Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas FRS (16 February 1741 – 14 June 1820), known as Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet from 1781 to 1794, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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. T ...

from 1763 to 1794, after which he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dundas. He was responsible for commissioning the '' Charlotte Dundas'', the world's "first practical steamboat".

Biography

Marske Cheshire Home 1 by Francis Hannaway

Dundas was the only son of

Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet (c. 1710 – 21 September 1781) was a Scottish businessman, landowner and politician. Life He was the son of Thomas Dundas and Bethia Baillie. He made his first fortune as Commissary General: supplying goods to ...

, the "Nabob of the North". Following education at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and St. Andrews University he did the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

, then became Member of Parliament for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, 1763–1768, then for

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

, 1768–1794. He was elevated to the peerage as Baron Dundas of Aske in August 1794, and was also Lord Lieutenant and Vice Admiral of Orkney and Shetland, Councillor of state to the Prince of Wales (later

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

), President of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries and Colonel of the North York Militia. He acquired

Marske Hall Marske Hall is a 17th-century former mansion house, now a Valorum Care Group residential care home, in Marske-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland, England. It has Grade I listed building status. The building is constructed of squared stone in t ...

in North Yorkshire in 1762 after the death of

Sir William Lowther, 3rd Baronet Sir William Lowther, 3rd Baronet (1727 – 15 April 1756) was an English landowner, of Marske Hall, Yorkshire and Holker Hall. He was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Lowther, 2nd Baronet and Lady Elizabeth Cavendish. In January 1755, he inherited ...

. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet in 1781, inheriting

Aske Hall Aske Hall is a Georgian country house, with parkland attributed to Capability Brown, north of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It contains an impressive collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, and in its grounds a Joh ...

, also in North Yorkshire.

''Charlotte Dundas''

Dundas followed his father in having an interest in Grangemouth and in the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

, under construction from 1768 to 1790, and he would have been aware of the 1789 trials on the canal of Patrick Miller of Dalswinton's

double-hull A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some dis ...

ed paddle boat powered with a steam engine fitted by

William Symington William Symington (1764–1831) was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas. Early life Symington was born in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, to a family he described as ...

. In 1800 Dundas, as Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, engaged Symington to design a steam tug on the lines of a failed attempt by Captain

John Schank Admiral John Schank (6 February 1823) was an officer of the British Royal Navy known for his skill in ship construction and mechanical design. Biography He was the son of Alexander Schank of Castlerig, Fife, Scotland. He entered the Royal Navy w ...

for the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Wor ...

. At a meeting of the canal company's directors on 5 June 1800 Dundas "produced a model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a steam engine by Mr Symington", and it was agreed this should be immediately put in hand. The boat was built to Symington's design. It had successful trials on the River Carron in June 1801 and further trials towing sloops from the

river Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of t ...

up the Carron and thence along the

. The other proprietors of the canal were concerned about wave damage to the canal banks, and the Committee decided that the boat would "by no means answer the purpose". Symington had proposals for an improved boat which were presented in the form of a model, shown to Lord Dundas, of the boat which would become famous as the '' Charlotte Dundas'', named in honour of one of his Lordship's daughters. One account states that Lord Dundas had advised Symington to prepare the model and bring it to his Lordship in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where Symington was introduced to the

Duke of Bridgewater Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

who was enthusiastic enough to immediately order eight boats of similar construction for his canal. Unfortunately, the Duke of Bridgewater died a few days before the first sailing, and nothing came of this order. Lord Dundas and some of his relatives and friends were on board for the first sailing of the boat on the canal in 1803, but despite the success of the ''Charlotte Dundas'' fears of erosion of the banks prevailed, and the trials were ended leaving Symington

out-of-pocket An out-of-pocket expense (or out-of-pocket cost, OOP) is the direct payment of money that may or may not be later reimbursed from a third-party source. For example, when operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of ...

Family

Thomas Dundas, futuro primo barone Dundas

Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet married Lady Charlotte FitzWilliam, the daughter of

William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam (15 January 1719/20 – 10 August 1756) was a British peer, nobleman, and politician. He was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum L ...

, on 24 May 1764 and they had 14 children: *

Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland (10 April 1766 – 19 February 1839) was a Scottish MP who sat in the House of Commons from 1790 to 1820 when he was raised to the peerage. Early life Dundas was the son of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dunda ...

(1766–1839) * Anne Dundas (1767) * Thomas Dundas (born 1768; died young) * Lt-Col. William Lawrence Dundas (18 May 1770 – 1796), died in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

* Charles Lawrence Dundas (18 July 1771 – 25 January 1810), married Lady Caroline Beauclerk, daughter of

Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans (3 June 1740 – 9 February 1802) was a British landowner, and a collector of antiquities and works of art. Early life Aubrey Beauclerk was born in 1740, the son of Admiral Vere Beauclerk, 1st Baron V ...

* Margaret Dundas (9 November 1772 – 8 May 1852), married Archibald Spiers * Charlotte Dundas (18 June 1774 – 5 January 1855), married Rev. William Wharton * Thomas Lawrence Dundas (12 October 1775 – 17 March 1848) * Frances Laura Dundas (24 May 1777 – 27 November 1844), married Robert Chaloner * R-Adm.

George Heneage Lawrence Dundas George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

(1778–1834) * Maj-Gen. Sir

Robert Lawrence Dundas Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Lawrence Dundas (27 July 1780 – 23 November 1844) was a British Whig and military commander during the Peninsular War. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons representing Malton from 1807 to 18 ...

(27 July 1780 – 23 November 1844) * Dorothy Dundas (August 1785 – December 1790) * Mary Dundas (30 May 1787 – 1 November 1830), married Charles FitzWilliam, 5th Earl FitzWilliam * Isabella Dundas (25 February 1790 – 6 December 1887), married John Charles Ramsden

External links

William SymingtonZetland Estates
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundas, Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron 1741 births 1820 deaths Anglo-Scots People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of St Andrews Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Fellows of the Royal Society Lord Lieutenants of Orkney and Shetland Place of birth missing Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III

Biography

''Charlotte Dundas''

Family

See also

External links