George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon

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The Earl of Carnarvon
Carnarvon.jpg
Lord Carnarvon, who was the chief financial backer on many of Howard Carter's Egyptian excavations.
Born (1866-06-26)26 June 1866
Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt
Nationality British
Fields Egyptology
Known for Tutankhamun's tomb

George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, DL (26 June 1866 – 5 April 1923), styled Lord Porchester until 1890, was an English aristocrat best known as the financial backer of the search for and the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Background and education

Styled Lord Porchester from birth, he was born at the family seat, Highclere Castle, in Hampshire, the only son of Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, a distinguished Tory statesman, by his first wife Lady Evelyn Stanhope, daughter of George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield. Aubrey Herbert was his half-brother.[1] He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2] He inherited the Bretby Hall estate from his maternal grandmother, Anne Elizabeth, Dowager Countess of Chesterfield (1802–1885), and succeeded his father in the earldom in 1890.[3]

Horse racing

Exceedingly wealthy, Carnarvon was at first best known as an owner of racehorses and a reckless driver of early cars, suffering in 1901 a serious motoring accident near Bad Schwalbach in Germany which left him significantly disabled. In 1902, he established Highclere Stud to breed thoroughbred racehorses.[4] In 1905, he was appointed one of the Stewards at the new Newbury Racecourse. His family has maintained the connection ever since. His grandson, the 7th Earl, was racing manager to Queen Elizabeth II from 1969, and one of Her Majesty's closest friends.

Egyptology

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Lord Carnarvon was an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist, undertaking in 1907 to sponsor the excavation of nobles' tombs in Deir el-Bahri (Thebes). Howard Carter joined him as his assistant in the excavations.[5] It is now established that it was Gaston Maspero, then Director of the Antiquities Department, who proposed Carter to Lord Carnarvon.[6] He received in 1914 the concession to dig in the Valley of the Kings, in replacement of Theodore Davis who had resigned. In 1922, he and Howard Carter together opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, exposing treasures unsurpassed in the history of archaeology.

Family

Lady and Lord Carnarvon at the races in June 1921.

Lord Carnarvon married Almina Victoria Maria Alexandra Wombwell,[7] illegitimate daughter of millionaire banker Alfred de Rothschild,[8] at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster, on 26 June 1895. They had two children:

Death

Lord Carnarvon's tomb on Beacon Hill

On 19 March 1923 Carnarvon suffered a severe mosquito bite infected by a razor cut. On 5 April, he died in the Continental-Savoy Hotel in Cairo.[10] This led to the story of the "Curse of Tutankhamun", the "Mummy's Curse". His death is most probably explained by blood poisoning (progressing to pneumonia) after accidentally shaving a mosquito bite infected with erysipelas.

Carnarvon's tomb, appropriately for an archaeologist, is located within an ancient hill fort overlooking his family seat at Beacon Hill, Burghclere, Hampshire.[11] Carnarvon was survived by his wife Almina, who remarried, and their two children.

In popular culture

Carnarvon has been portrayed in popular culture in film, video game and television productions:[12]

Other popular culture information:

  • His country house, Highclere Castle, serves as the location of the ITV/PBS television series Downton Abbey, except that the downstairs scenes are filmed on a set in London, as Highclere's basement is the home of Carnarvon's Egyptian collections. Highclere is owned by the present earl.

Ancestry

Family of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Carnarvon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Carnarvon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Lady Elizabeth Wyndham
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. John Dyke Acland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Elizabeth Kitty Acland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Lady Christian Harriet Fox-Strangways
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Henry Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Lord Henry Howard-Molyneux-Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Juliana Molyneux
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Henrietta Howard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. Edward Long
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Elizabeth Long
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Mary Ballard Beckford
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon[9]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. Arthur Charles Stanhope
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chesterfield
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. Margaret Headlam
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Lady Henrietta Thynne
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. Lady Elizabeth Cavendish-Bentinck
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Lady Evelyn Stanhope
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Lt-Col. Cecil Forester
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Cecil Weld-Forester, 1st Baron Forester
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. Anne Townshend
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Hon. Anne Weld-Forester
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Lady Katherine Manners
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Lady Mary Isabella Somerset
 
 
 
 
 
 

Works

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References

  1. ↑ thepeerage.com George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ A letter of Maspero dated 14 October 1907, contained in his archives in the library of the Institut de France says: You have been kind enough to say to me that you could find a man who knows Egyptology to survey my works. Have you thought to anybody? I will leave the question of payment in your hands but I think I would prefer a compatriot (Manuscripts 4009, folios 292-293). On 16 January 1909, Carter writes to Maspero: Just a word to tell you that Lord Carnarvon has accepted my conditions. He will be there (in Egypt) from 12 February to 20 March. I have to thank you again... (Manuscripts 4009, folio 527) - from Elisabeth David.
  7. ↑ Barnard Burke, 1914, p.387
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003).
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Carnarvon's Tomb
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • with Howard Carter, Five Years' Explorations at Thebes - A Record of Work Done 1907-1911, ed. Paul Kegan, 2004 (ISBN 0-7103-0835-3).
  • Five Years' Explorations at Thebes
  • Fiona Carnarvon, Egypt at Highclere - The discovery of Tutankhamun, Highclere Enterprises LPP, 2009.
  • Fiona Carnarvon, Carnarvon & Carter - the story of the two Englishman who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, Highclere Enterprises LPP, 2007.
  • Elisabeth David, Gaston Maspero 1846-1916, Pygmalion/Gérard Watelet, 1999 (ISBN 2-85704-565-4).
  • Cross William, Lordy! Tutankhamun's Patron As A Young Man , Book Midden Publishing, 2012 (ISBN 978-1-905914-05-0).
  • Cross William, The Life and Secrets of Almina Carnarvon : 5th Countess of Carnarvon of Tutankhamun Fame , 3rd Ed 2011 ( ISBN 978-1-905914-08-1).
  • Cross William, Catherine and Tilly: Porchey Carnarvon's Two Duped Wives: The Tragic Tales of the Sixth Countesses of Carnarvon, Book Midden Publishing, 2013 ( ISBN 978-1905914-25-8).

External links

Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by Earl of Carnarvon
1890–1923		 Succeeded by
Henry Herbert
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