I thought it would be fun to go back through time and try to find out about some of the most famous gamblers in history. I decided to begin this series with John Montagu from the 18th century. What, you don’t recognize the name? Perhaps it will sound more familiar if you hear his title, the Earl of Sandwich. Yes, he really did come up with the sandwich that we all know and love today and we can thank gambling for that innovation.
You see, the Earl was a gambling man with a gaming table at his home. He once played for more than 24 straight hours and his servants became concerned when he wouldn’t even stop to eat. One of them offered him a hunk of salted beef in the hopes he would eat. The Earl didn’t want to stop playing but didn’t want to dirty the cards so he asked for the meat to be placed between two slices of bread to keep his hands clean. The sandwich was born on that date back in 1762.
Montagu was a big supporter of exploration during his life with a special interest in the Navy even after his time as the First Lord of the Admiralty. Despite heavy criticism over his handling of naval affairs and accusations of nepotism, bribery and other charges of corruption, he did remain a friend to explorers and supported Captain Cook’s voyages. When the good captain discovered a new set of islands, he named them the Sandwich Islands (later became Hawaii) after his benefactor’s penchant for eating them so often.
When you hear about Montagu being referred to as one of the most immoral men of that time, people weren’t referring to his gambling habits. He was called "lecherous as a goat" and was accused of bribery and corruption in every post he had. While he had the ear and friendship of the King, the majority of the rest of England would spit on the ground at hearing his name. His mishandling of the fleet has been attributed to England’s losing of the Revolutionary War and thus it’s colony on the new continent.
