James Stuart-Mackenzie PC

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 (30 October 1718 – 8 April 1800) was a Scottish politician and joint founder 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 ...

in 1783. The second son of

James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute (before 1696 – 28 January 1723) was the son of James Stuart, 1st Earl of Bute and Agnes Mackenzie. Family In February 1711, he married Lady Anne Campbell (daughter of Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll and E ...

, he served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for various Scottish constituencies of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

from 1742 to 1780. Stuart-Mackenzie was the British Minister at Turin from 1758 to 1761. He was made a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1761, and served as

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has rem ...

from 1763 to 1765, and again from the following year until his death in 1800.

Life

Born James Stuart, he was a younger son of

, and his wife Lady Anne Campbell, daughter of

Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, 10th Earl of Argyll (25 July 1658 – September 1703) was a Scottish peer. Biography The eldest son of Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll and Mary Stuart, daughter of James Stuart, 4th Earl of Moray ...

. Prime Minister

John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...

, was his elder brother. He was educated at

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 ...

1728 to 1732 then travelled to Europe to study at the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

where he graduated in 1737. He inherited the Rosehaugh estates near Avoch in Ross-shire through his paternal grandmother Agnes Mackenzie and assumed the additional surname of Mackenzie. He was returned to Parliament for

Buteshire The County of Bute ( gd, Siorrachd Bhòid), also known as Buteshire, is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. The county comprises a number of islands in the Firth of Clyde, between the counties of Argyll and Ayrshire, the p ...

in 1747, a seat he held until 1754, and then represented

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...

from 1761 to 1780. In 1761 he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. In 1763 he became

until 1765 and then again in 1766 until his death. In 1752 Hon. James Stewart Mackenzie sold Rosehaugh and bought from Sir Thomas and William Nairn the ecclesiastical lands of Kirkhill in

Meigle Meigle ( gd, Mìgeil, ) is a village in Strathmore, Scotland. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross in the Coupar Angus and Meigle ward. It lies on the A94 road between Perth and Forfar. Other smaller settlements nearby are Balkee ...

, which belonged to the Holy Trinity of Dunkeld, and upon the site of the former Castle, which had been used as a grange for the Churchmen, he erected Belmont Castle, at a cost of £10,000. He was a very studious man and a great astronomer. A telescope, purportedly specially made for him, is in the Robert Whipple Collection at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He was responsible for the building of the observatory on

Kinpurnie Hill Kinpurnie Hill is one of the most famous hills of the Sidlaw range in south-east Perthshire. Kinpurnie Hill is located near Newtyle and is popular with hillwalkers. Name and etymology The name ''Kinpurney'' was recorded in 1317 as ''Kylp ...

, then part of his estate. The observatory was designed by Alexander Bryce (1713 - 1786), Minister of Kirknewton and East Calder, but remained incomplete. He died on 6 April 1800.

Family

Stuart-Mackenzie married his first cousin Lady Elizabeth Campbell, daughter of

John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich, (10 October 1680 – 4 October 1743), styled Lord Lorne from 1680 to 1703, was a Scottish nobleman and senior commander in the British Army. He served on the contine ...

, in 1749. They had no surviving children. She died in July 1799. Stuart-Mackenzie survived her by less than a year and died in April 1800. According to a decision in 1803 his estates were passed on to his nephew

James Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie Colonel James Archibald Stuart, later Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie (19 September 1747 – 1 March 1818), British politician and soldier, was the second son of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute and his wife Mary Stuart, Countess of Bute. On 8 June 1767 ...

. He was brother-in-law to

Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet Robert Bruce of Kennet, Lord Kennet FRSE (24 December 1718 – 8 April 1785) was a Scottish advocate, legal scholar and judge. Life Bruce was born at Kennet House in Clackmannanshire on 24 December 1718, the son of Mary Balfour, daughter of Ro ...

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart-Mackenzie, John 1710s births 1800 deaths People educated at Eton College Leiden University alumni Scottish astronomers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Younger sons of earls

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...