thumb|right|200px|Quartered arms of Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland, KG

Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 4th Duke of Sutherland (20 July 1851– 27 June 1913), styled Lord Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower until 1858, Earl Gower between 1858 and 1861 and Marquess of Stafford between 1861 and 1892, was a British peer and politician from the Leveson-Gower family.

Early life

Sutherland was the eldest son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland. He was born in London and educated at Eton College.

Career

As Marquess of Stafford, Sutherland entered the 2nd Life Guards as a cornet. He retired from regular army service as a lieutenant in 1875, He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sutherland Rifles, a volunteer regiment of his ducal county in Scotland, from 1882 to 1891.

Under the title of Marquess of Stafford, Sutherland served as member of parliament for Sutherland from the election of 1874, when he was unopposed, standing as a Liberal, and held the seat as a Liberal until he stood down at the 1886 election. On succeeding to his father's peerages in 1892, he became a member of the House of Lords. By then his political allegiance had shifted, and he sat on the Conservative benches. He also served as Mayor of Longton, near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, in 1895–96, and was an alderman of the borough from 1898.

Sutherland's father, the 3rd Duke, was a railway pioneer and built a 17-mile private railway with a locomotive named Dunrobin (after the family's castle). The 4th Duke had a new locomotive built, also named Dunrobin, with two private railway carriages which he used on the private line and also attached to main-line trains.

The Duke was President of the Staffordshire Territorial Forces Association from the formation of the Territorial Force in 1908. Trentham Hall, which was blighted by river pollution, was largely demolished and Stafford House was sold.

Honours

The Duke was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter (KG) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and was invested by Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902.

Marriage and children

He married Lady Millicent St Clair-Erskine, daughter of Robert St Clair-Erskine, 4th Earl of Rosslyn, on 20 October 1884. They had four children:

  • Lady Victoria Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1885–1888), died young.
  • George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland (1888–1963)
  • Lord Alastair St. Clair Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1890–1921), married Elizabeth Demarest (former wife of John G. A. Leishman Jr., only son of John George Alexander Leishman). They were the parents of Elizabeth Sutherland, 24th Countess of Sutherland.
  • Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1893–1930), dated Edward, Prince of Wales before marrying William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley and had issue. Died in a plane crash with Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava.

In 1900 the Duke of Sutherland owned about 1,358,000 acres (550,000 hectares) and the steam yacht Catania, which was chartered by some of the super-rich of that era.

The Duke died at Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, on 27 June 1913, aged 61, and was buried at Dunrobin.