James Merry (1805 – 3 February 1877 ) was a Scottish ironmaster and race-horse breeder and a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1859 to 1874. Merry was the son of James Merry, merchant of Glasgow, and his wife Janet Creelman daughter of W. Creelman. He was educated at the

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

and became an ironmaster in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire. He was an influential member of "the Turf", and breeder of some of the best English race-horses including

Thormanby Thormanby is a village and civil parish in Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the A19 approximately halfway between Easingwold and Thirsk and about south east of the county town of Northallerton. History Thormanby ...

which won the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

in 1860, Dundee, Buckstone and Scottish Chief. He also won the Derby in 1873 with

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. He was a Deputy Lieutenant and J.P. for Inverness-shire'Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
/ref> Merry stood unsuccessfully for parliament at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in February 1857. He was elected MP for Falkirk Burghs in April 1857 but was unseated on petition the following July. At the 1859 general election Merry was elected MP for Falkirk Burghs and held the seat until 1874. In 1857 Merry bought the Belladrum Estate, near

Beauly Beauly ( ; ; gd, A' Mhanachainn) is a village in the Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the Scottish County of Inverness. The land around B ...

. Merry died at the age of 70. Merry married Ann McHardy, daughter of James McHardy of Glenboig, Lanarkshire in 1847. Merry Island, off the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, is named for Merry.

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* 1805 births 1877 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Inverness-shire Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1868–1874 Alumni of the University of Glasgow British racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Epsom Derby winners {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub