John Ramsay (1814 – 24 Jun 1892) was a Scottish distiller, merchant and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. Ramsay was the son of Robert Ramsay of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

and his wife Elizabeth Stirling. He was educated at

Glasgow University , 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 a merchant in

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 ...

. He was granted a lease in 1836 on the struggling Port Ellen whisky distillery on the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides. He enlarged and improved the pier at Port Ellen in 1881 and became one of the pioneers of the export trade in Scotch whisky to the United States. He also inaugurated the first bi-weekly cargo and passenger service by steamship between Islay and Glasgow. He helped to improve the island's infrastructure and built Kildalton Castle, a rambling Scottish baronial country house in Port Ellen. He was a Deputy Lieutenant and a J.P. for Argyllshire and a J.P. for

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

and showed a major interest in education. In 1864 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Education in Scotland, being also an unpaid member of Board of Education for Scotland. He was a Fellow or member of several learned societies.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref> In April 1868, Ramsay was elected at a by-election as the

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 o ...

(MP) for Stirling Burghs when his predecessor gave up the seat under the influence of a spiritualist prophet. He only sat until the general election in November that year, when he lost the seat to the future prime minister

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. He served as the prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1 ...

. Ramsay was a member of the Royal Commission on Endowed Schools in Scotland in 1872. In the 1874 general election, he was elected as the MP for Falkirk Burghs, but discovering he had been in breach of regulations as he held a government contract at the time, stood down in March and was re-elected at a by-election that month. He held the seat until 1886, and in the meantime was a member of Endowed Institutions Commission under an Act of 1878, and of Educational Endowments Commission under an Act of 1882. Ramsay lived at Kildalton, Argyllshire. He died at the age of 78. Ramsay married firstly Eliza, Shields of Lanchester, Durham in 1857. She died in 1864, and he married again in 1871 to Lucy Martin of Auchendennan,

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, John 1814 births 1892 deaths Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 Deputy Lieutenants of Argyllshire Scottish merchants Alumni of the University of Glasgow Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stirling constituencies 19th-century Scottish businesspeople