Portrait of David Wedderburn Wellcome L0005697

Sir David Wedderburn, 3rd Baronet (20 December 1835 – 18 September 1882) was a British politician.

Life

David Wedderburn was the second son of Sir John Wedderburn, 2nd Baronet, and Henrietta Louise Milburn. His grandfather, Sir David, had had the title of the Wedderburn baronetcy restored to the family, following the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

after the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

and the subsequent regain of fortune via the slave sugar plantations of Jamaica. He studied law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated as senior optime in 1858. He was called to the

Scottish bar The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a const ...

as an advocate in 1861. He succeeded to the title upon his father's death in 1862, his elder brother John having died in the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. He was a justice of the peace for Midlothian and a captain in the Midlothian Yeomanry. He was elected as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

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 o ...

for South Ayrshire in 1868, holding the seat until 1874. He was then elected for Haddington Burghs in 1879, resigning in 1882 by becoming

Steward of the Manor of Northstead The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidden ...

. In April 1873, he visited

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

in Guernsey. He confessed his republican convictions to the great French poet, but added : "If I said that aloud, I would not be re-elected". He travelled widely, returning to India as an adult, and visiting the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Java, Iceland, South Africa, and throughout Europe. His travel journals and his political writings were edited and published after his death by his youngest sister, Louisa Jane, assisted by her husband Edward Hope Percival. He wrote for ''

The Nineteenth Century ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...

'' and ''

The Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,00 ...

'', two of the most prominent periodicals of the time. He lived at

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop o ...

Lodge, south of Musselburgh. He never married. On his death in 1882, the title went to his youngest brother,

William Wedderburn Sir William Wedderburn, 4th Baronet, JP DL (25 March 1838 – 25 January 1918) was a British civil servant and politician who was a Liberal Party member of Parliament (MP). Wedderburn was one of the founding members of the Indian National C ...

, one of the founders of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

. He is buried in St. Michael's churchyard in Inveresk. The grave lies midway along the western boundary of the original churchyard, backing onto the Victorian cemetery.

Sources

*Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1870, page 282

References

* *

External links

* 1835 births 1882 deaths Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Yeomanry officers

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

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