James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, (21 January 1811 – 31 October 1885), styled Viscount Hamilton from 1814 to 1818 and The Marquess of Abercorn from 1818 to 1868, was a British
Conservative statesman who twice served as
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...
.
Background and education
Born into an
Ulster-Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to:
* Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch'') ...
aristocratic family at Seymour Place,
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
, on 21 January 1811, Abercorn was the son of
James, Viscount Hamilton, himself the eldest son of
The 1st Marquess of Abercorn. His mother, Harriet, was the second daughter of
The Hon.
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...
John Douglas, himself the son of
The 14th Earl of Morton. His father died when Abercorn was only three. In 1818, aged seven, he succeeded his grandfather in his titles and estates.
He was educated at
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
and
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
, where he matriculated on 2 July 1829.
Political career
Lord Abercorn was first appointed a
deputy lieutenant of
County Tyrone, where he had a family seat at
Baronscourt. On 13 November 1844, Lord Abercorn was appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Donegal. The next month, on 12 December 1844, he was made a
Knight of the Garter at the relatively young age of 33.
Abercorn was appointed
Groom of the Stole to
Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Albert I of Belgium ...
on 8 February 1846, and shortly thereafter, on 25 February 1846, was made a
Privy Counsellor. He served as Groom of the Stole until June 1859, and remained a prominent figure in the royal court for the next two decades. He received two honorary degrees during this period, becoming an
LL.D. of Cambridge on 5 July 1847, a
DCL
DCL or may refer to:
* 650 in Roman numerals, see 650 (disambiguation)
Computers
* Data Center Linux, see Open Source Development Labs
* Data Control Language, a subset of SQL
* Dialog Control Language, a language and interpreter within AutoC ...
of Oxford on 4 June 1856. From 11 April 1855 to 22 September 1860, he was honorary colonel of the
Donegal Militia, and on 18 February 1860, was commissioned a captain in the newly raised
London Scottish Rifle Volunteers.
On 6 July 1866, he was appointed
Viceroy of Ireland, under the
third ministry of
Lord Derby. He retained the post after Derby resigned in February 1868 and
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
took the reins of the ministry. On 10 August 1868, he was created Marquess of Hamilton and Duke of Abercorn in the
Peerage of Ireland. Around this time, he received his third honorary degree, an LL.D. from
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
. After
Gladstone and the Liberals won the
1868 general election, Abercorn resigned the Lord-Lieutenancy on 14 December.
After the formation of the
second Disraeli ministry, Abercorn was again appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on 2 March 1874, and was also chosen
Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Ireland
The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as ...
, a post he held until his death. He resigned the Lord-Lieutenancy again on 6 December 1876, partly on account of his wife's ill health.
Abercorn was Envoy-Extraordinary for the investiture of King
Umberto I of Italy with the Order of the Garter on 2 March 1878. He was elected
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
University of Ireland
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ro ...
in 1881, and died four years later at his home of
Baronscourt,
County Tyrone on 31 October 1885. He is buried in the cemetery at Baronscourt Parish Church, the traditional burial place of the Dukes of Abercorn and their families.
Family and children
Abercorn married
Lady Louisa, second daughter of
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, in 1832.
[ They had fourteen children, thirteen of whom survived infancy, among them seven daughters, all of whom were ordered to marry into the peerage and no one beneath the rank of an earl:]
*Lady Harriet Georgiana Louisa Hamilton (1834–1913), married in 1855 to Thomas George Anson, 2nd Earl of Lichfield. They had eight sons and five daughters.
*Lady Beatrix Frances Hamilton (1835–1871), married in 1854 to George Frederick D'Arcy Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham
(George Frederick) D'Arcy Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham (5 September 1828 – 27 November 1879), styled Viscount Lambton from 1833 to 1840, was a British peer.
Early life
Lambton was born on 5 September 1828 at Copse Hill, Wimbledon and was baptis ...
* Lady Louisa Jane Hamilton (1836–1912), married in 1859 to William Montagu Douglas Scott, 6th Duke of Buccleuch
* James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn (1838–1913)
*Lady Katherine Elizabeth Hamilton (1840–1874), married in 1858 to William Henry Edgcumbe, 4th Earl of Mount Edgcumbe
*Lady Georgiana Susan Hamilton (1841–1913), married in 1882 to Edward Turnour, 5th Earl Winterton
* Lord Claud Hamilton (1843–1925)
* Lord George Hamilton (1845–1927)
* Lady Albertha Frances Anne Hamilton (1847–1932), married in 1869 to George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough
George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, DL (13 May 1844 – 9 November 1892), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1857 and Marquess of Blandford between 1857 and 1883, was a British peer.
Early life
Marlborough was born in Engl ...
. The marriage was annulled in 1883.
*Lord Ronald Douglas Hamilton (1849–1867)
* Lady Maud Evelyn Hamilton (1850–1932), married in 1869 to Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
*Lord Cosmo Hamilton (1853–1853, on the same day)
* Lord Frederick Spencer Hamilton (1856–1928)
* Lord Ernest Hamilton (1858–1939)
Abercorn died in October 1885, aged 74, and was succeeded by his eldest son, James. The Duchess of Abercorn died in March 1905, aged 92.
Ancestry
Notes
References
*
*
*''Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''
*
External links
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercorn, James Hamilton, 1st Duke of
1811 births
1885 deaths
19th-century English politicians
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Deputy Lieutenants of Tyrone
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Knights of the Garter
Lord-Lieutenants of Donegal
Lords Lieutenant of Ireland
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Grooms of the Stool
People from Mayfair
English people of Ulster-Scottish descent
London Regiment officers
Military personnel from Middlesex
People educated at Harrow School