Sir Claud Alexander, 1st Baronet (15 January 1831 – 23 May 1899) was a Scottish Conservative Party politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

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 (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. In 1849, he joined the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

. He served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

including at the Siege of Sevastapol. He was awarded the Crimean Medal and Clasp, the Turkish War Medal and the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was 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 five classes, with the Firs ...

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 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 of Elderslie who was Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire. 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 Claud is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Claud Allister (1888–1970), English actor *Claud Beelman (1883–1963), American architect *Claud Irvine Boswell (1742–1824), Scottish judge *Claud Thomas Bourchier (1831–1877), E ...

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