Sir David Ramsay, 4th Baronet (after 1673 – by 1 September 1710), of Balmain, Kincardine, was a Scottish politician who sat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

from 1705 to 1707 and in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

from 1707 to 1710. Ramsay was son of Sir Charles Ramsay, 3rd Baronet, of Balmain,

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

. He was educated at

Aberdeen Grammar School Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department. It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...

and attended

Marischal College, Aberdeen Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

from 1693 to 1697. He succeeded to his father's

baronetcy 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 1695 while at the university. Ramsay contested Kincardine in 1702 unsuccessfully, but was returned as

Shire Commissioner A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other ...

in 1705. He was a supporter of the Country party, and was initially an opponent of the Union. He was often absent from Parliament and was inconsistent when he did vote. In 1707 he was one of the

Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain The Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain, serving from 1 May 1707 to 26 May 1708, were not elected like their colleagues from England and Wales, but rather hand-picked. The forty five men sent to London in 1707, to t ...

. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

, he was returned as

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

. In response to a petition from Kincardineshire freeholders to place Scottish J.P.s on the same footing as English J.P.s (and excuse the Scots from a 'slavish and unnecessary attendance' on circuit courts), he took charge of a bill during January and February 1709. While arranging his marriage, Ramsay was accidentally killed in a fall from his horse on or before 1 September 1710. He was succeeded in his baronetcy by his brother Alexander.

References

Politics of Aberdeenshire People associated with Aberdeenshire Kincardine and Mearns Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 {{Scotland-pre1707-MP-stub