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A one-handed dinner at cards
Who the earl was
John Montagu was born in 1718 and became the 4th Earl of Sandwich at just 10 years old. He spent much of his life at the center of British politics, serving as First Lord of the Admiralty and holding some of the highest offices in government. By all accounts he was brilliant, hardworking, and controversial, and he loved games of chance.
The card game
In the story, the earl sat through an all-night card game and got hungry, though not hungry enough to leave the table. Instead of a proper dinner, he asked for slices of roast beef between two pieces of bread, something he could hold in one hand while the other stayed free for his cards. The bread kept his fingers clean and held everything together, so he needed no plate or utensils and never had to stop playing.
How it caught on
The other gamblers noticed what he was eating and started ordering the same thing. Before long, people at the table were asking for the same as Sandwich.
Why was Hawaii once called the Sandwich Islands?
James Cook named the Hawaiian Islands the Sandwich Islands in 1778. Montagu was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time, the political head of the Royal Navy that backed Cook's voyages. Cook also named the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic after him, and that name is still in use. Western mapmakers kept the Sandwich Islands label for Hawaii well into the nineteenth century.
How can a ten-year-old become an earl?
English peerages passed by inheritance, so a title moved to the eldest son the moment his father died, whatever the heir's age. John Montagu's father, Edward, the 3rd Earl, died in 1729. A peer could not take his seat in the House of Lords until he came of age at twenty-one. A boy-earl typically had guardians manage his estates until then.
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