Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, 7th Duke of Brandon (3 October 1767 – 18 August 1852), styled as the Earl of Angus until 1799 and Marquess of Douglas and Clydesdale from 1799–1819, was a Scottish politician and art collector.

Life

Born on 3 October 1767 at St. James's Square, London, the eldest son of

Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon (15 July 1740 – 16 February 1819) was a Scottish peer and politician. Background and education Hamilton was the second son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his third wife, An ...

, he was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he matriculated on 4 March 1786. He received his MA on 18 February 1789. Hamilton was a Whig, and his political career began in 1802, when he became MP for

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

. He remained in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

until 1806, when he was appointed to the Privy Council, and Ambassador to the court of St. Petersburg until 1807; additionally, he was Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire from 1802 to 1852. He received the numerous titles at his father's death in 1819. He was

Lord High Steward The Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England, nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, and is now an ''ad hoc'' office that is primarily ceremonial and ...

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

in 1831 and

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's coronation in 1838, and remains the last person to have undertaken this duty twice. He became a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

in 1836. He held the office of Grand Master Mason of the Freemasons of Scotland between 1820 and 1822. He held the office of President of the

Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

between 1827 and 1831. He held the office of Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

between 1834 and 1852. He married Susan Euphemia Beckford, daughter of

William Thomas Beckford William Thomas Beckford (29 September 1760 – 2 May 1844) was an English novelist, art critic, planter and politician. He was reputed at one stage to be England's richest commoner. He was the son of William Beckford (politician), William Beckf ...

and Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter of

Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne (c. 1726 – 28 December 1794). The eldest son of John Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aboyne and Grace Lockhart, he succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Aboyne on 7 April 1732. On his death in 1794 he was succeeded in his ...

, on 26 April 1810 in London, England. Hamilton was a well-known dandy of his day. An obituary notice states that "timidity and variableness of temperament prevented his rendering much service to, or being much relied on by his party ... With a great predisposition to over-estimate the importance of ancient birth ... he well deserved to be considered the proudest man in England." He also supported Napoleon and commissioned the painting ''

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries ''The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries'' () is an 1812 painting by Jacques-Louis David. It shows French Emperor Napoleon I in uniform in his study at the Tuileries Palace. Despite the detail, it is unlikely that Napoleon posed for t ...

'' by Jacques-Louis David. Lord Lamington, in ''The Days of the Dandies'', wrote of him that 'never was such a magnifico as the 10th Duke, the Ambassador to the Empress Catherine; when I knew him he was very old, but held himself straight as any grenadier. He was always dressed in a military laced undress coat, tights and Hessian boots, &c'. Lady Stafford in letters to her son mentioned 'his great Coat, long Queue, and Fingers cover'd with gold Rings', and his foreign appearance. According to another obituary, this time in ''Gentleman's Magazine,'' he had 'an intense family pride'.

Death and legacy

Hamilton had a strong interest in

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

, and was so impressed with the work of mummy expert

Thomas Pettigrew Thomas Joseph Pettigrew (28 October 1791 – 23 November 1865), sometimes known as "Mummy" Pettigrew, was a surgeon and antiquarian who became an expert on Ancient Egyptian mummy, mummies. He became well known in London social circles for his p ...

that he arranged for Pettigrew to mummify him after his death. He died on 18 August 1852 at age 84 at 12 Portman Square, London, England and was buried on 4 September 1852 at

Hamilton Palace Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton and is widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in the British Isles.Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Scotland. In accordance with his wishes, Hamilton's body was mummified after his death and placed in a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

of the Ptolemaic period that he had originally acquired in Paris in 1836 ostensibly for the British Museum. At the same time he had acquired the sarcophagus of

Pabasa The ancient Egyptian noble Pabasa was chief steward of the God's Wife of Amun Nitocris I during the Saite Period. He is buried in tomb TT279, which is located in the El-Assasif, part of the Theban Necropolis, near Thebes. His sarcophagus ...

, an important nobleman which is now in the Kelvingrove Museum. In 1842 Hamilton had begun construction of the Hamilton Mausoleum as repository for the overcrowded family vault at the Palace. He was interred there with other Dukes of Hamilton, from the 1858 completion of the Mausoleum until 1921 when subsidence and the subsequent demolition of the Palace forced removal of the bodies to the Bent cemetery in Hamilton, where he still lies buried in his sarcophagus.Gazetteer for Scotland- Bent cemetery
/ref> His collection of paintings, objects, books and manuscripts was sold for £397,562 in July 1882. The manuscripts were purchased by the German government for £80,000. Some were repurchased by the British government and are now in the

Marriage and issue

In 1810, Hamilton married Susan Euphemia Beckford, daughter of novelist William Beckford of Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, by Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter of the 4th Earl of Aboyne By his wife, Hamilton had one son and one daughter: * William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton (1811–1863), who married

Princess Marie Amelie of Baden Princess Marie Amelie of Baden (Marie Amelie Elisabeth Caroline; 11 October 1817 – 17 October 1888) was the youngest daughter of Charles, Grand Duke of Baden and Stéphanie de Beauharnais. In 1843, she married the Scottish nobleman William H ...

* Lady Susan Hamilton (1814–1899), who married 1st,

Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle Henry Pelham Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (22 May 181118 October 1864), styled Earl of Lincoln before 1851, was a British politician and aristocrat. He sat in Parliament for South Nottinghamshire (1832–46) and fo ...

; 2nd, Jean Alexis Op de Beeck of Brussels.

Ancestry

References

External links

*
Portrait
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton 1767 births 1852 deaths Nobility from South Lanarkshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Douglas and Clydesdale, Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, Marquess of Lord High Stewards 110

107 107 may refer to: *107 (number), the number *AD 107, a year in the 2nd century AD *107 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *107 (New Jersey bus) *107 Camilla, a main-belt asteroid *Peugeot 107, a city car See also

*10/7 (disambiguation) *Bohrium, ...

07 Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Garter Knights appointed by William IV Lord-lieutenants of Lanarkshire Mummies People educated at Harrow School UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs who inherited peerages Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Russian Empire Scottish politicians Scottish art collectors Paintings by Henry Raeburn

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...