John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

The Most Noble John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (May 26, 1650 – June 16, 1722), in full The Most Noble Captain-General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Marlborough, Baron Churchill of Sandridge, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, KG, PC (in addition to these English and Scottish titles he was also Prince of Mindelheim and a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire), was an English military officer during the War of the Spanish Succession. Churchill is generally considered the greatest military genius that Britain has produced. Historian Sir Edward Creasy wrote that " never fought a battle that he did not win, and never besieged a place that he did not take."

Trivia

In Spain Marlborough is remembered in popular culture in a children's song: "Mambrú se fue a la guerra, mire usted, mire usted, qué pena..." This is undoubtedly a translation of the 18th century French soldiers' song "Marlbrough s'en va t'en guerre..". In this song Marlbrough's wife is invited to put on her black dress, because she is going to be a widow soon... The song's melody was adopted in Britain, where it is sung with the words "For he is a joly good fellow...".

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Further Reading

• Winston Churchill, Marlborough, Odhams 1933-6, 4 volumes, subsequently reprinted in 2 volumes.
• Sir Charles William Chadwic Oman, "History of England", Edward Arnold, Eighth Edition, 1901.
• Virginia Cowles,The Great Marlborough and his Duchess, Macmillan, 1983.
• J. R. Jones, Marlborough (British Lives Series), Cambridge University Press, 1993.