John McLaren, Lord McLaren,

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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(17 April 1831 – 6 April 1910) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

politician and judge. In the scientific world he is remembered as a mathematician and astronomer.

Life

The son of

Duncan McLaren Duncan McLaren (12 January 1800 – 26 April 1886) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician and political writer. He served as a member of the burgh council of Edinburgh, then as Lord Provost, then as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Edinbu ...

, a former

Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of Edi ...

and Member of Parliament, and his wife Grant Aitken, he was born at 21 South St David Street, in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original Neoclassicism, neo-classical and Georgian architecture, Georgian period architecture. Its ...

. He studied law at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

. He was admitted to the Scottish

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

in 1856. In 1869, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) 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 establis ...

, his proposer being

Robert William Thomson Robert William Thomson Royal Scottish Society of Arts, PRSSA FRSE (29 June 1822 – 8 March 1873) was a Scottish inventor known for inventing the refillable fountain pen and the pneumatic tire, tyre. Life He was born on 29 June 1822 in Sto ...

. He served as the society's vice president for three sessions: 1885 to 1891; 1892 to 1898; and 1901 to 1906. He held the office of Sheriff of Chancery in Scotland 1869–1880. He reorganised the

party and arranged

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's Midlothian campaign of 1879–1880. He was elected Member of Parliament for

Wigtown Burghs Wigtown Burghs, also known as Wigton Burghs and Wigtown District of Burghs, was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of ...

in April 1880 and appointed

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

, losing his seat on seeking re-election on 20 May 1880. He failed to be elected at

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

on 21 July 1880, but was returned for

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 28 January 1881. McLaren's father

had resigned as MP for Edinburgh, which produced the vacancy to be filled. McLaren continued to sit for Edinburgh until he was appointed as a judge, later in the year. He was

for Scotland during 1880–81. Under pressure from Gladstone and Sir William Harcourt, he accepted appointment to the bench in 1881 with the judicial title Lord McLaren. He was an eminently successful judge, and edited works on Scots law. For his contributions to astronomy and mathematics he was awarded honorary degrees (all LLD) from

, the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. Lord McLaren died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

on 6 April 1910 but was returned to Edinburgh for burial in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

on its southernmost path. The original bronze medallion head was stolen but it is replaced with an accurate and convincing plastic replica.

Family

In 1868, he married Ottile Schwabe (d.1914). Their children largely died in childhood. Their eldest daughter was Ottilie McLaren.

Artistic recognition

His portrait by Sir

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was an Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, on 20 March 1856 and baptised at St Patrick's Church ...

is held in the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

but is seldom displayed.

References

* Source: ''Who's Who of British Members of Parliament, Volume I 1832-1885'' edited by M. Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren, John, Lord McLaren 1831 births 1910 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish Liberal Party MPs Lord advocates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies

Maclaren Maclaren is a manufacturer of baby buggies, strollers and carriers based in England. Product range Strollers based around Owen Maclaren's original design are sold in over 50 countries under the Maclaren brand. These include the Maclaren Volo, ...

UK MPs 1880–1885 Scottish legal writers