the Duke of Marlborough
/ðə ˌdjuːk əv ˈmɔːlbrə/
/ðə ˌduːk əv ˈmɑːrlbərə/
- born John Churchill (1650-1722) one of Britain's greatest soldiers, who won important battles in the War of the Spanish Succession. These included Blenheim (1704) and Malplaquet (1709). After his success at Blenheim, Queen Anne gave him money to build Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, where his descendant Winston Churchill was born in 1874. see also Marlborough House