Sir Claud Alexander, 1st Baronet (15 January 1831 – 23 May 1899) was a Scottish

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1874 to 1885.

Life

Alexander was the eldest son of Boyd Alexander and his wife Sophia Elizabeth Hobhouse, daughter of Sir Benjamin Hobhouse. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. In 1849, he joined the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

. He served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

including at the Siege of Sevastapol. He was awarded the

Crimean Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–56 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of th ...

and Clasp, the Turkish War Medal and the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

5th Class. He reached the rank of Colonel in 1870. He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> In 1868 Alexander stood unsuccessfully for parliament at Ayrshire South. At the 1874 general election he was elected

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 of ...

for Ayrshire South. He passed the "Industrial Schools Acts Amendment Act" in 1880. He held the seat until 1885. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1886. Alexander lived at Ballochmyle House, which he extended in 1886. He died at the age of 68.

Family

Alexander married Eliza Speirs, daughter of

Alexander Speirs Alexander Speirs (died 5 October 1844) was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1841. Speirs was the son of Archibald Speirs and his wife Margaret Dundas, daughter of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas. In 1835 Spe ...

of Elderslie who was

Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire The Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire is the representative of the British Crown covering a lieutenancy area of the county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The Lord Lieutenant deals with many of the ceremonial functions a ...

. He was succeeded as baronet by his son, also called Claud, who founded the British Cat Club in 1901.

References

External links

* 1831 births 1899 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1874–1880 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Army personnel of the Crimean War Grenadier Guards officers Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie, 5th class Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Claud {{Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub