James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline

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 ...

(7 November 177617 April 1858), was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and Whig politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1835 and 1839.

Background and education

Abercromby was the third son of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who fell at the

Battle of Alexandria Battle of Alexandria, Raid on Alexandria, or Siege of Alexandria may refer to one of these military operations fought in or near the city of Alexandria, Egypt: * Siege of Alexandria (169 BC), during the Syrian Wars * Siege of Alexandria (47 BC), ...

, and Mary, 1st Baroness Abercromby, daughter of John Menzies of Fernton,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. He was the younger brother of George Abercromby, 2nd Baron Abercromby and Sir John Abercromby and the elder brother of Alexander Abercromby. He attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and was called to the English Bar,

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, in 1801. He became a commissioner of bankruptcy and later appointed steward of the

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's estates.

Legal and political career

Abercromby sat as Whig Member of Parliament for Midhurst between 1807 and 1812 and for Calne between 1812 and 1830. He brought forwards two motions for bills to change the representation for Edinburgh in parliament. He received great support but no change was made until the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

. In 1827 he was sworn of the

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and appointed Judge-Advocate-General by

George Canning George Canning (11 April 17708 August 1827) was a British Tory statesman. He held various senior cabinet positions under numerous prime ministers, including two important terms as Foreign Secretary, finally becoming Prime Minister of the Unit ...

, a post he held until 1828, the last months under the premiership of

Lord Goderich Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon, (1 November 1782 – 28 January 1859), styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known between 1827 and 1833 as The Viscount Goderich (pronounced ), the name by which he is best known to ...

. In 1830 Abercromby was made Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, a position he retained until 1832, when the office was abolished. He received a pension of £2,000 a year. In 1831 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 proposer being John Hope, Lord Hope. In 1832 returned to the House of Commons as one of two members for Edinburgh, whose representation had now been increased from one to two members. In July 1834 he entered Lord Melbourne's cabinet as Master of the Mint, but only held the post until November of the same year, when the Whigs lost power. Abercromby was considered for the speakership of the House of Commons by his party for the 1833 election, but Edward Littleton was eventually chosen instead (he was defeated by Charles Manners-Sutton). However, in the 1835 election he was chosen as the Whig candidate. Due to an evenly balanced House of Commons the election rendered great interest and was fiercely contested. On 19 February 1835 Abercromby was elected, defeating Manners-Sutton by 316 votes to 306. The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' writes that "As speaker Abercromby acted with great impartiality while he possessed sufficient decision to quell any serious tendency to disorder." During his tenure a number of reforms for the introduction of private bills were made. In spite of failing health Abercromby continued as speaker until 1839. On his retirement he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dunfermline, of Dunfermline in the County of Fife. After his retirement Abercromby continued to take an interest in public affairs, specifically those involving the city of Edinburgh. He was one of the originators of the United Industrial School for the support and training of destitute children. In 1841 he was elected as Dean of Faculty at the University of Glasgow. He also wrote a biography of his father, published posthumously in 1861. He died at Colinton House, just south-west of Edinburgh on 17 April 1858.

Family

Lord Dunfermline married Mary Anne, daughter of Egerton Leigh, of West Hall, in High Legh, on 14 June 1802. He bought property and land in Colinton, Midlothian in 1840. He died at Colinton House, on the south-west edge of Edinburgh in April 1858, aged 81, and was buried at Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Sir Ralph Abercromby, KCB, who was Secretary of Legation at Berlin and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Sardinia between 1840 and 1851 and to The Hague between 1851 and 1858. Lady Dunfermline died in August 1874. He was the nephew of Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet. A portrait of James Abercromby as a child by David Allan (1779) is held by the University of Dundee Museum Services

Arms

References

*Burke, John, ''History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland'', vol.iii, London, 1838, pp. 1–2. *Anderson, William, ''The Scottish Nation'', Edinburgh, 1867, vol.iv, p. 105.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunfermline, James Abercromby, 1st Baron 1776 births 1858 deaths Abercromby, James People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh English barristers James Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies Barons of the Court of Exchequer (Scotland) Masters of the Mint Barons Dunfermline Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James Abercromby, James UK MPs who were granted peerages Speakers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at the Grange Cemetery Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge