Dunbar Hamilton Douglas, 4th Earl of Selkirk

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1 December 1722 – 24 June 1799) was a Scottish peer.

Early life

Born Dunbar Hamilton, he adopted the name Dunbar Douglas upon his succession to the Earldom of Selkirk in 1744. He was the eldest son of the former Isabella Mackenzie and

Basil Hamilton Basil Hamilton (8 September 1696 – 14 November 1742) was a Scottish Jacobite. Early life He was the second son of Lord Basil Hamilton and Mary Dunbar, granddaughter and heiress of Sir David Dunbar, 1st Baronet, of Baldoon. His elder brother ...

, MP for Kirkcudbright Stewartry. His only surviving sibling was Mary Hamilton, who married Ranald Macdonald of Clanranald. His maternal grandparents were Elizabeth ( Paterson) Mackenzie (a daughter of Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie) and Col. Hon. Alexander Mackenzie (a son of Kenneth Mackenzie, 4th Earl of Seaforth). His paternal grandparents were

Lord Basil Hamilton Lord Basil Hamilton ( bp 16 December 1671 – 27 August 1701) was a Scottish aristocrat who drowned trying to save his servant. Early life Hamilton was baptized on 16 December 1671 at Hamilton. His was the sixth son of William Hamilton, Duke of Ham ...

(a sixth son of

William Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, KG, PC (24 December 1634 – 18 April 1694), also known as Lord William Douglas and the Earl of Selkirk, was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was the eldest son of The 1st Marquess of Douglas by ...

and Anne Hamilton, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Duchess of Hamilton). He attended

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1739, being greatly influenced by Francis Hutcheson, Professor of Moral Philosophy. In 1745 he was granted the honorary

Doctorate of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

Career

Selkirk was a supporter of the government during the

Jacobite Rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

. He was

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

from 1766 to 1768. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or a ...

and, from 1787, as a

representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

for Scotland. He succeeded to the title of 4th Earl of Selkirk (creation of 1646 in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...

) and 4th Lord Daer and Shortcleuch (creation of 1646 in the

) on 3 December 1744. John Paul Jones seizing the silver plate of Lady Selkirk (1)

In 1778, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Selkirk was the target of a raid by

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

, who was sailing in the service of the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

. Jones landed his ship, the ''

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

'' on the shore of St Mary's Isle, intending to kidnap the Earl. Finding only the countess and her young family at home, his men made off instead with the silver of the household. The story is told more fully

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

. In 1782, he became a member of the radical

Society for Constitutional Information The Society for Constitutional Information was a British activist group founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright, to promote parliamentary reform. It was an organisation of social reformers, many of whom were drawn from the rational dissenting c ...

. In 1785 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Dugald Stewart Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hut ...

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role i ...

, and

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

Personal life

On 3 December 1758, Lord Selkirk married Helen Hamilton (–1802), daughter of Hon. John Hamilton and Margaret Home. He had seven sons, six of whom predeceased him. The youngest, Thomas, succeeded him as 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1799. * Sholto Basil Douglas (1759–1760), who died in infancy *

Basil William Douglas Basil William Douglas, Lord Daer FRSE (1763-1794) was a Scottish nobleman who, in his short life, developed a reputation as an agricultural improver and an advocate of parliamentary reform. He was an active member of, among other radical societi ...

, Lord Daer (1760–1794), who died, unmarried, from tuberculosis. * John Douglas, Lord Daer (1765–1797) * Hon. Dunbar Douglas (1766–1796), a Commander of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. * Hon. Alexander Douglas (1767–1794) Captain,

38th Regiment of Foot The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the South Staffordshire Regime ...

. * Lady Helen Hamilton Douglas (–1837), who married

Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet Sir James Hall of Dunglass, 4th Baronet FRS FRSE (17 January 1761 – 23 June 1832) was a Scottish geologist and geophysicist. He was a Member of Parliament for St. Michael's borough (Mitchell, Cornwall) 1807–1812. Education Hall was born at D ...

. * Hon. David Douglas (1769–1770), who died young. *

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

(1771–1820), who married Jean Wedderburn-Colville, sister to James Wedderburn and

Andrew Colville Andrew Colvile (born Andrew Wedderburn; 6 November 1779 – 3 February 1856) was a Scottish businessman, notable as the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, a huge organisation set up for the North American fur trade but also instrumenta ...

, in 1807. * Lady Elizabeth Douglas (–1814) * Lady Katherine Douglas (–1848) Lord Selkirk died on 24 June 1799 at his residence on

George Street, Edinburgh George Street is the central thoroughfare of the First New Town, Edinburgh, New Town of Edinburgh, planned in the 18th century by James Craig (architect), James Craig. The street takes its name from George III of the United Kingdom, King Geor ...

and was buried at

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Ref ...

on the 31st of that monthBalfour Paul, Sir James, ''Scots Peerage'' Edinburgh 1904. vol vii, p521
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selkirk, Dunbar Douglas, 4th Earl Of Earls of Selkirk Scottish representative peers Lord-Lieutenants of Kirkcudbright 1722 births 1799 deaths Burials at Holyrood Abbey