John David Leslie-Melville, 12th Earl of Leven (5 April 1886 – 11 June 1913) (known as Lord Balgonie from 1889 to 1906) was a Scottish soldier and banker who served as a

Representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

Early life

Leslie-Melville was born on 5 April 1886. He was the eldest son of

Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven Ronald Ruthven Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven and 10th Earl of Melville, (19 December 1835 – 21 August 1906) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life The son of the John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven and his second wife, Sophia, ...

and the former Emma Selina Portman (1863–1941). His siblings were Hon. Archibald Alexander Leslie-Melville, Capt. Hon. David William Leslie-Melville, Lt.-Col. Hon. Ian Leslie-Melville, and Lady Constance Betty Leslie-Melville. His father was a very wealthy landowner and resided at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

when he was

Lord High Commissioner of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland was the monarch of Scotland's's personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland. From the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England in 1603, a Lord High Commissi ...

. His paternal grandparents were

John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven, 8th Earl of Melville DL JP (18 December 1786 – 16 September 1876) was a Scottish peer and soldier. Early life John Thornton was born on 18 December 1786. He was the son of Alexander Leslie-M ...

and the former Sophia Thornton (a daughter of abolitionist Henry Thornton MP). His maternal grandfather was

Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman Lord William Henry Berkeley Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman, GCVO (12 July 1829 – 16 October 1919) was a British Liberal Member of Parliament. Background Portman was the son of Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman and Lady Emma Lascelles, daug ...

. He was educated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where he used to hunt with the Bicester Hounds.

Career

Lord Leven was a Lieutenant in the

Lovat Scouts The Lovat Scouts was a British Army unit first formed during the Second Boer War as a Scottish Highland yeomanry regiment of the British Army. They were the first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit and in 1916 formally became the British ...

Yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He served as a

Representative Peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to ...

for Scotland from 1910 until his death in June 1913. He was also a member of the London banking firm of Frederick Huth & Co. Upon his father's death on 21 August 1906, he succeeded as the

Viscount of Kirkaldie Earl of Melville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for the Scottish soldier and statesman George Melville, 4th Lord Melville. He was made Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie and Viscount of Kirkcaldy at the same time ...

, the

Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie Earl of Melville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for the Scottish soldier and statesman George Melville, 4th Lord Melville. He was made Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie and Viscount of Kirkcaldy at the same tim ...

, the

Earl of Melville Earl of Melville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for the Scottish soldier and statesman George Melville, 4th Lord Melville. He was made Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie and Viscount of Kirkcaldy at the same tim ...

, the

Earl of Leven Earl of Leven (pronounced "''Lee''-ven") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1641 for Alexander Leslie. He was succeeded by his grandson Alexander, who was in turn followed by his daughters Margaret and Catherine (who are usu ...

, the

Lord Melville of Monymaill Earl of Melville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for the Scottish soldier and statesman George Melville, 4th Lord Melville. He was made Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie and Viscount of Kirkcaldy at the same tim ...

, the

Lord Balgonie Earl of Leven (pronounced "''Lee''-ven") is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1641 for Alexander Leslie. He was succeeded by his grandson Alexander, who was in turn followed by his daughters Margaret and Catherine (who are us ...

. Lord Leven was required to pay death duties of $1,250,000 on the estate, which exceeded $6,500,000. Reportedly, the "depletion of the estate so impressed the successor to it that he insured his life for the benefit of the estate."

Personal life

Lord Leven died, unmarried, on 11 June 1913, "caused by injuries sustained in the hunting field", which was later determined to be "an accidental death". His funeral was held in Scotland, and his titles passed to his younger brother,

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 2314. The death duties of over $600,000 were met by the insurance taken out upon his succession to the title. A year later, his brother, a Lieutenant in the Second Dragoons,

Royal Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard ...

, was wounded during the "cavalry fight in Waterloo". Lord Leven was left behind when his regiment retreated and later escaped from a German prison disguised as a refugee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leven, John Leslie-Melville, 12th Earl of 1886 births 1913 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Earls of Leven Scottish representative peers Lovat Scouts officers