John Frederick Sackville, 3rd duke of Dorset

Son of Lord John Philip Sackville (1713–1765), a politician, and his wife, Lady Frances née Leveson-Gower. In 1790 he married Arabella Cope (1769–1825); they had three children. MP for Kent 1768, he succeeded his uncle Charles Sackville (1711–1769) as duke of Dorset the following year. Appointed lord lieutenant of Kent 1769; colonel of the West Kent militia 1778; captain of the Yeomen of the Guard and Master of the Horse in 1782, he resigned these posts the following year; British ambassador to France 1783–1789. His main interest, however, was not politics but sport, and he greatly developed the game of cricket; himself a keen and talented amateur player, he served on the committee at the Star and Garter, in Pall Mall, which revised the laws of cricket in 1774, and was one of the founding members of the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1787.