Major-General Norman MacLeod of MacLeod FRS

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 ...

(4 March 1754 – 16 April 1801) was a Scottish soldier and politician, who served as MP for Inverness-shire 1790 to 1796, a seat previously held by his grandfather, Norman MacLeod. Thomas Pennant called him “unusually intelligent”. As an MP, he was one of the early campaigners (1796) to abolish the slave trade. He was the 23rd

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of Clan MacLeod.

Life

Norman was born in Brodie House,

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

, on 4 March 1754. He spent his first 10 years with his mother in Hampshire being tutored privately. He was then sent to live with his grandfather in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

before studying at University of St. Andrews (1769/70) but removed due to a “sexual escapade” and then went on to Oxford in 1770. In 1771 following a cattle plague in his family home of Dunvegan Castle estate on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

he vowed to return and resolve various difficulties. In 1772, he succeeded his grandfather as the 23rd Chief of Clan MacLeod. He returned to Dunvegan Castle, the family's ancient seat in

and found his grandfather had also left him with a debt of £50,000. By 1775, tired of life on Skye and being unable to free himself of the debt, he obtained a commission as a captain with the 71st or Fraser's Highlanders. In 1776, he set sail with the regiment for America but was captured by

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. He returned home a few years later and was promoted to major with the 73rd or MacLeod's Highlanders. Then shortly after, made lieutenant-colonel with the

42nd Highlanders The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...

. In 1781, he sailed with the battalion for the

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but the expedition passed on to India. He served as a

Brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

Colonel in the East Indies between 1782 and 1794, fought against Tipu Sultan, and then in the Malabar region in India where he was second in command. He reached the rank of Major General in 1794 on a salary of £6,000 per year. In 1790, while returning to Britain, 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 John Hill (his uncle), Andrew Duncan, and

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role i ...

. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London the following year. As an MP, he voted against war with France in February 1792. In April 1793, he voted for the relief of Scottish Catholics. In 1794, he was accused of embezzling money whilst in India and never recovered from this accusation. Financially ruined, he abandoned political life and turned to drink by 1796. He died on

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

on 16 April 1801 whilst preparing for a cruise to restore his health. He left debts of £33,000.

Family

In April 1776, he married Mary MacKenzie, daughter of William MacKenzie of Suddie. She died in February 1784, an event which mentally scarred Norman for the rest of his life. By Mary, he had a daughter, Mary Emilia, and a son, Norman (1781-1800) who was killed when

HMS Queen Charlotte Four ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Queen Charlotte'' after Charlotte, queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. *The first was a first rate of 100 guns, built at Chatham and launched in 1790. She took part in severa ...

exploded in Leghorn. Later, he married Sarah Stackhouse, a noted beauty, and had one son, John Norman, and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacLeod of MacLeod, Norman Norman Macleod (1754-1801) Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies 1754 births 1801 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford 71st Highlanders officers Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish abolitionists 73rd Regiment of Foot officers 42nd Regiment of Foot officers