John Montagu, 1718-92, 4. Earl of Sandwich, 1. Lord der Admiralität

Gainsborough painted this in 1783, the year Britain signed away its American colonies. The man standing in front of Greenwich Hospital is John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, and he had just left his post as First Lord of the Admiralty, the political head of the Royal Navy through the whole of the American war it had failed to win. The commission was really a thank-you. Admiral Hugh Palliser, then running the hospital for old sailors behind him, had it made in gratitude for Sandwich's patronage, and the sitter holds a plan for the hospital's new infirmary. And yes, he is that Sandwich. The story goes that he liked his meat served between two pieces of bread so he need not leave the card table, and the meal quietly took his name.