George Gordon, 1st Earl of Aberdeen (3 October 163720 April 1720), was a Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

Early life

Gordon, born on 3 October 1637, the second son of Sir John Gordon, 1st Baronet, of Haddo,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, (executed in 1644); and his wife, Mary Forbes. He graduated MA, and was chosen professor at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

, in 1658. Subsequently, he travelled and studied civil law abroad.

Career

At the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

the sequestration of his father's lands was annulled, and in 1665 he succeeded by the death of his elder brother as the ''3rd Baronet Gordon, of Haddo'' and to the family estates. He returned home in 1667, was admitted advocate in 1668 and gained a high legal reputation. He represented

in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

of 1669 to 1674, the

Convention of Estates The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the Scottish Parliament which sat from the early sixteenth century. Initially it was only attended by the clergy and nobles, but the burgh commissioners were later added. The Conven ...

of 1678 and the following parliamentary assembly of 1681/82. During his first session he strongly opposed the projected

union of England and Scotland The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

. In November 1678 he was made a Privy Counsellor for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and in 1680 was raised to the bench as Lord Haddo. He was a leading member of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

's administration, was created a Lord of the Articles in June and in November 1681 Lord President of the Privy Council. The same year he is reported as moving in the council for the torture of witnesses. In 1682 he was made Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and was created, on 13 November, Earl of Aberdeen, Viscount Formartine, and Lord Haddo, Methlick, Tarves and Kellie, in the Scottish peerage, being appointed also

Sheriff of Aberdeen The Sheriff of Aberdeen was a royal official who was responsible for enforcing justice in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, they were ...

and

Sheriff of Edinburgh The Sheriff of Edinburgh was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in the shire of Edinburgh (also known as Edinburghshire or Midlothian) in Scotland. In 1482 the burgh of Edinbu ...

later the same year. Burnet reflected unfavourably upon him, writing of him, "...a proud and covetous man ... the new chancellor exceeded all that had gone before him. cites Burnet ''History of His Own Times'', p. 523. He executed the laws enforcing religious conformity with severity, and filled the parish churches, but resisted the excessive measures of tyranny prescribed by the English government; and in consequence of an intrigue of the

Duke of Queensberry The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland on 3 February 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the 1st Marquess of Queensberry. The Dukedom was held along with the Marquessate of Queensbe ...

and Lord Perth, who gained the duchess of Portsmouth with a present of £27,000, he was dismissed in 1684. After his fall he was subjected to various petty prosecutions by his victorious rivals with the view of discovering some act of maladministration on which to found a charge against him, but the investigations only served to strengthen his credit. He took an active part in parliament in 1685 and 1686, but remained a non-juror during the whole of

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

's reign, being frequently fined for his non-attendance, and took the oaths for the first time after Anne's accession, on 11 May 1703. In the great affair of the Union in 1707, while protesting against the completion of the treaty till the act declaring the Scots aliens should be repealed, he refused to support the opposition to the measure itself and refrained from attending parliament when the treaty was settled. He is described by John Mackay as, "...very knowing in the laws and constitution of his country and is believed to be the solidest statesman in Scotland, a fine orator, speaks slow but sure. His person was said to be deformed, and his ''want of mine or deportment'' was alleged as a disqualification for the office of Lord Chancellor.

Family

He married Anne Lockhart, daughter and (eventual) sole heiress of

George Lockhart of Tarbrax George Lockhart of Tarbrax was a son of Allan Lockhart of Cleghorn, Sir Allan Lockhart of Cleghorn. He married Anne Lockhart of Tarbrax daughter of Sir James Lockhart of Lee. They lived at Tarbrax Castle and had a son William Lockhart of Tarbrax a ...

and Anne Lockhart. They had several children: *John Gordon (1673–1675) *George Gordon, Lord Haddo (1674after 1694), d.v.p.s.p. *Lady Anne Gordon (1675–1709), married

Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton Alexander is a male given name. 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 are Aleksandar, Al ...

*James Gordon (1676–?), d.v.p.s.p. *Lady Jean Gordon (1678–?) * William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen (1679–30 March 1746) *Lady Martha Gordon (1681– ?), married John Udny of Udny in March 1701 *Lady Mary Gordon (1682–1753), married Alexander Fraser, 13th Lord Saltoun, 26 October 1707 *Lady Margaret Gordon (d.1738) His only surviving son, William, succeeded him as 2nd earl of Aberdeen. He died on 20 April 1720, having amassed a large fortune.

Notes

References

* Attribution * Endnotes: **''Letters to George, earl of Aberdeen'' (with memoir: Spalding Club, 1851); **''Hist. Account of the Senators of the College of Justice'', by G. Brunton and D. Haig (1832), p. 408; ** G. Crawfurd's ''Lives of the Officers of State'' (1726), p. 226; **''Memoirs of Affairs in Scotland'', by Sir G. Mackenzie (1821), p. 148; ** Sir J. Lauder's (Lord Fountainhall) ''Journals'' ( Scottish Hist. Society, vol. xxxvi., 1900); **J. Mackay's ''Memoirs'' (1733), p. 215; ** A. Lang's ''Hist. of Scotland'', iii. 369, 376.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberdeen, George Gordon, 1st Earl Of 1637 births 1720 deaths Academics of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 01

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Peers of Scotland created by Charles II Lord chancellors of Scotland Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland People from Aberdeenshire Presidents of the Privy Council of Scotland Scottish scholars and academics Lords President of the Court of Session Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682