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One of England’s greatest contributions to western civilization is the card game of cribbage, at least according to avid cribbage players. Sir John Suckling is the one responsible for bringing us the game we love today. While there is no evidence that Sir John Suckling was the creator of Cribbage, at least he is the one responsible for the game’s release and distribution across the country.

Sir John Suckling, poet, playwright, bowler/gambler and notorious womanizer, was born 10 February 1609 at Whitton between Twickenham and Hounslow, Middlesex. He was born into a very prominent family in England, although his mother died when he was four, his father took over raising the young child. His father was a member of the English Parliament and was the “Controller” of the royal household until his untimely death in 1627. Sir John was 18 when his father died and old enough to inherit his father’s considerable estate. After receiving the inheritance, he spent countless amounts of money on travel, womanizing, and of course, gambling.

In 1623 he enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge, and then in 1627 at Gray’s Inn. At the young age of 18 he embarked on a military career, enlisting in the army of Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years’ War. At the age of 21, Suckling was knighted by King Charles I. The king quickly regretted the decision, so Suckling left court and became involved in various military adventures. He is said to have served in an expedition against France and was said to have fought in Lord Wimbledon’s regiments in Dutch service. In October 1631, Sir John joined Sir Henry Vane, who was serving under Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. In 1632, Suckling quickly came back into the favor of King Charles, having delivered the shipments on Vane’s orders, and having accomplished his mission, returned and stayed in England.

After that, he filled his time with gambling, womanizing, and military service for the rest of the decade. This is where he is said to have invented the popular game of cribbage, which had some similar features to the games Noddy and One-and-Thirty. When the Scottish War of 1639 began he left his beloved maps and wives to raise a force of 100 horsemen and his army joined King Charles in the north. When the war ended peacefully in 1639, Sir John returned to London. He was elected to Parliament in 1640, but in May 1641 he took part in a vain attempt to free a political prisoner, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Stratford, who was being held in the Tower of London. Sir John Suckling was then accused of treason and had to flee to France with very little belongings and almost no financial support to avoid arrest.

To provide himself with some financial security during one of his darkest hours, Suckling began selling a large number of marked decks and distributing them to the wealthiest in the region. Then he started playing cards where the marked cards were dealt. In 1642 it was believed that Sir John Suckling committed suicide by taking poison. It has been said that his greatest achievements were the lyrics to “Why So Pale” and “Swan Lover?” were. and for Cribbage, which has changed little since Suckling’s day and is one of the most popular card games in the English-speaking world.

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