John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie

John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie KT, PC (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland in William Ewart Gladstone's short-lived 1886 administration.


The Earl of Dalhousie

Secretary for Scotland
In office
5 April 1886  20 July 1886
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterWilliam Ewart Gladstone
Preceded byGeorge Trevelyan
Succeeded byArthur Balfour
Member of Parliament for Liverpool
In office
1880–1880
Preceded byWilliam Rathbone
Viscount Sandon
Edward Whitley
Succeeded byLord Claud Hamilton
Viscount Sandon
Edward Whitley
Personal details
Born
John William Maule Ramsay

29 January 1847 (1847-01-29)
Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died25 November 1887 (1887-11-26) (aged 40)
Le Havre, France
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)
Lady Ida Louisa Bennet
(m. 1877; died 1887)
RelationsCharles Maule Ramsay (brother)
ParentsGeorge Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie
Sarah Frances Robertson
EducationCharterhouse School
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford

Early life

Dalhousie was born at Aberdour House at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire on 29 January 1847. He was the eldest son of Admiral George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie, and Sarah Frances, daughter of William Robertson of Logan House. The Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay, MP for Forfarshire, was his younger brother. He gained the courtesy title of Lord Ramsay in 1874 when his father succeeded in the earldom of Dalhousie on the death of his first cousin, Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie.[1]

His paternal grandfather was The Hon. John Ramsay (the fourth son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie).[2]

After attending Charterhouse School, he matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford in 1875.[3]

Career

Dalhousie followed his father into the Royal Navy, where he served from 1861 to 1879,[4] achieving the rank of Commander. He was Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh between 1874 and 1876 and an Extra Equerry between 1876 and 1880.[1]

Political career

"Liverpool". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1880.

Dalhousie was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Liverpool in March 1880, but was forced to resign in July 1880 after succeeding his father in the earldom.[1][5] After taking his seat in the House of Lords he was appointed a Lord-in-waiting in September 1880 by William Ewart Gladstone, a position he held until the government fell in 1885.

In April 1886 he succeeded George Trevelyan (who had resigned over Irish Home Rule) as Secretary for Scotland in Gladstone's short-lived 1886 administration,[1] although in contrast to Trevelyan he was not a member of the cabinet. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time.[6] He retained this post until the government fell in July 1886. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1881.[1][7]

Personal life

On 6 December 1877, Lord Dalhousie was married to Lady Ida Louisa Bennet. She was a daughter of Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville and Olivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville (eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester).[8] Together, Lord and Lady Dalhousie had five sons:[2]

After returning from a trip to the United States in November 1887, the couple were forced to break off their journey in Le Havre after Lady Dalhousie was taken ill. Despite medical attention she died of peritonitis on 24 November, aged 30. After retiring to bed the same night, Lord Dalhousie never awoke, having apparently suffered from an apoplectic fit during the night, thus surviving his wife by less than 24 hours, dying at age 40.[9]

References

  1. John William Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie profile, thepeerage.com; accessed 3 April 2016.
  2. "Dalhousie, Earl of (S, 1633)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  3. Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Ramsay, John William" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co via Wikisource.
  4. "Ramsay, John William Maule, thirteenth earl of Dalhousie". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23093. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. Lichfield and Tamworth to London and Westminster South Archived 29 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, leighrayment.com; accessed 3 April 2016.
  6. "No. 25575". The London Gazette. 6 April 1886. p. 1655.
  7. leighrayment.com Knights of the Thistle, leighrayment.com; accessed 3 April 2016.
  8. "Tankerville, Earl of (GB, 1714)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. "OBITUARY.; BISHOP WHELAN, OF WEST VIRGINIA. THE EARL OF DALHOUSIE, K.T., G.C.B." The New York Times. 8 July 1874. Retrieved 7 April 2020.

Sources

  • Torrance, David, The Scottish Secretaries (Birlinn 2006)
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
William Rathbone
Viscount Sandon
Edward Whitley
Member of Parliament for Liverpool
1880
With: Viscount Sandon
Edward Whitley
Succeeded by
Lord Claud Hamilton
Viscount Sandon
Edward Whitley
Political offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Dunmore
The Viscount Hawarden
The Lord Bagot
The Lord de Ros
The Lord Elphinstone
The Lord Henniker
The Earl of Onslow
Lord-in-waiting
1880–1885
With: The Lord Methuen
The Lord Ribblesdale
The Lord Sudeley
The Lord Wrottesley
The Lord Sandhurst
The Lord Thurlow
Succeeded by
The Lord de Ros
The Earl of Kintore
The Viscount Hawarden
The Lord Henniker
The Earl of Hopetoun
The Lord Elphinstone
The Lord Boston
Preceded by
George Trevelyan
Secretary for Scotland
1886
Succeeded by
Arthur Balfour
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
George Ramsay
Earl of Dalhousie
1880–1887
Succeeded by
Arthur George Maule Ramsay
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