George Douglas, 16th Earl Of Morton
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - George Douglas, 16th Earl Of Morton
OR:
George Douglas, 16th Earl Of Morton on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton, KT, FRS,
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 ...
, FSA (3 April 1761 – 17 July 1827) was a British nobleman.


Life

He was the son of
Sholto Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton Sholto Charles Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton (c. 1732–25 September 1774) was the son of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton. He was Colonel of a regiment of light dragoons, the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons, raised in Scotland in 1759 and d ...
, and Katherine Hamilton. He succeeded to the title Earl of Morton in 1774 aged only thirteen, following the death of his father. He was sent to
Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
to be educated. Following his education he conducted a Grand Tour of Europe, as was the fashion of the day, and visited most of the European Courts. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in February 1785. His proposers were
Daniel Rutherford Daniel Rutherford (3 November 1749 – 15 December 1819) was a Scottish physician, chemist and botanist who is known for the isolation of nitrogen in 1772. Life Rutherford was born on 3 November 1749, the son of Anne Mackay and Professor John ...
, John Robison, and Alexander Keith. He served as vice-president of the
Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
occasionally from 1795 to 1819, if
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
was unavailable. The Earl was a frequent member of the Royal Company of Archers. Also, he had an interest in horse breeding and was noted for his attempts to breed a quagga. He served as a representative peer from 1784 to 1790 and as Queen's Chamberlain 1792 to 1818. He was also
Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
of
Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
from 1808 to 1824. He was also High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland. On 11 August 1791 he was created Baron Douglas of Loch Leven, in the
County of Kinross The County of Kinross or Kinross-shire is a historic county and registration county in eastern Scotland, administered as part of Perth and Kinross since 1930. Surrounding its largest settlement and county town of Kinross, the county borders Per ...
. Thereafter he took a seat in the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
between
Lord Howard de Walden Baron Howard de Walden is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ of summons in 1597 by Queen Elizabeth I for Admiral Lord Thomas Howard, a younger son of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, by his second wife, the Honourab ...
and Lord Walsingham. He was knighted at St. James's Palace in 1797 as a
Knight of the Thistle A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
. He died at the family estate of
Dalmahoy Dalmahoy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dail MoThua'') is a hotel and former country house near Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located off the A71 road, south of Ratho. The house is protected as a category A listed building, History The estate was the proper ...
House on 17 July 1827.


Family

On 13 August 1814, he married Susan Elizabeth Buller (daughter of Sir Francis Buller). They had no children. He was succeeded in the earldom by his first cousin, George Sholto Douglas. The barony of Douglas of Loch Leven became extinct on his death.


Freemasonry

Lord Morton was a Scottish Freemason. He was Initiated in Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2, on 30 November 1789. The source here cited states, incorrectly, that he was the 17th earl. Exactly one year later he was elected as
Grand Master Mason This is a list of Grand Master Masons of the Grand Lodge of Scotland: # 1736–1737: William St Clair of Roslin # 1737–1738: George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie # 1738–1739: John Keith, 3rd Earl of Kintore (G.M. of England; 1740) # 1739 ...
of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histor ...
. During his term in office there were several notable events one concerning politics. 'It was declared by Grand Lodge, on 1 August 791that difference of political sentiments was to be no bar to Masonic fellowship, and that any Daughter Lodge guilty of excluding any Brother on that account merely would incur such censure as the Grand Lodge might at the time deem proper.'The History of Freemasonry and Grand Lodge of Scotland. By William A. Lawrie. Edinburgh. 1859. p. 146.


See also

*
Lord Morton’s mare Lord Morton’s mare was an equid hybrid and once an often-noticed example in the history of evolutionary theory. In 1820, George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton, F.R.S., reported to the President of the Royal Society that, being desirous of domest ...
, once thought to demonstrate
telegony The ''Telegony'' (Greek: , ''Tēlegoneia''; la, Telegonia) is a lost ancient Greek epic poem about Telegonus, son of Odysseus by Circe. His name ("born far away") is indicative of his birth on Aeaea, far from Odysseus' home of Ithaca. It was par ...
.


References

*


External links


Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2, (Edinburgh)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, George Douglas, 16th Earl of 1761 births 1827 deaths
George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton, KT, FRS, FRSE, FSA (3 April 1761 – 17 July 1827) was a British nobleman. Life He was the son of Sholto Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton, and Katherine Hamilton. He succeeded to the title Earl of Morton in 17 ...
Knights of the Thistle Lord-Lieutenants of Fife Lord-Lieutenants of Midlothian Scottish representative peers Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Royal Company of Archers Peers of Great Britain created by George III