Alexander Smith Kinnear, 1st Baron Kinnear, (3 November 1833,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

– 20 December 1917,

) was a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and judge. He served as

Lord of Council and Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

(1882–1913), and was appointed to 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 1911.

Life

He was born 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 ...

the son of John Gardner Kinnear

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 ...

, a businessman and founder of John G. Kinnear & Co, commission merchants based at 17 St Vincent Place in the city centre. The family lived at 137 Clarence Place in Glasgow. His eldest sister became the headmistress

Georgina Kinnear Georgina Kinnear (1820 – 26 April 1914) was a British headmistress. Life Kinnear was born in Edinburgh in 1820. Her brothers were educated by tutors, but Kinnear taught herself, getting up at 5 am each morning to do so. She was able to poach so ...

and his uncle was

James Kinnear James Kinnear WS FRSE (1810-1849) was a Scottish lawyer. His legal title was Master Extraordinary in Chancery and Commissioner of English Affairs. Life He was born on 2 December 1810 and lived at 31 Queen Street in the New Town. He was appren ...

(1810–1849). All were descended from the Edinburgh banking firm of

Thomas Kinnear :not to be confused with Grace Marks' employer who died in 1843 Thomas Kinnear FRSE (1796–1830) was a Scottish banker and Director of T. Kinnear & Sons. He was also a Director of the Bank of Scotland. Life He was born on 11 January 1796. ...

and Sons. He was educated at

and

universities, and was called to the Scottish bar in 1856. For some years he acted as a law reporter, but in 1878 he was chosen leading counsel in the Court of Session for the liquidators in the case arising out of the failure of the City of Glasgow Bank, and henceforward his rise was rapid. In 1881 he became a

Q.C. QC may refer to: * Queen's Counsel, the title of a King's Counsel, a type of lawyer in Commonwealth countries, during the reign of a queen * Quality control, the process of meeting products and services to consumer expectations Places * Quebec, ...

, and the same year was chosen

Dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...

. In 1882 he was made a judge, with the courtesy title of Lord Kinnear, and in 1890 an appellate judge, retiring from the Court of Session in 1913, although he continued to sit in the House of Lords as a lord of appeal. He was a member of the commission of 1904 for settling the question of the division of Scottish church property. In 1883 he was elected a Fellow 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 ...

. His proposers were James Moncrieff, Lord Moncrieff,

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook '' Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote wi ...

, and

Alexander Forbes Irvine Alexander Forbes Irvine, 20th Laird of Drum FRSE JP DL LLD (1818–1892) was a Scottish landowner, advocate, philosopher and amateur astronomer. He was a prominent member of Clan Irvine and held the family seat of Drum Castle until his death. Life ...

. He was awarded honorary doctorates (LLD) from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1878 and 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 , ...

in 1894. He lived at 2 Moray Place, a huge townhouse on the exclusive

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Backg ...

on the western fringe of

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 neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

Baron Kinnear

Baron Kinnear, of Spurness in the

County of Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, was a title in the

Peerage of the United Kingdom The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

. It was created on 5 February 1897 for Alexander Kinnear, Lord Kinnear in recognition of his services as chairman of the Scottish Universities Commission of 1889. He did not marry, and the title became extinct on his death on 20 December 1917. He is buried with other family members in a relatively commonplace grave in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

on the central path within the north section of the original cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnear, Alexander Kinnear, 1st Baron 1833 births 1917 deaths Burials at the Dean Cemetery Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Senators of the College of Justice Lawyers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Scottish judges Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria 20th-century Scottish judges