Sir William Baillie of Polkemmet, 2nd Baronet, DL (2 February 1816 – 21 July 1890) was a Scottish oarsman and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician who sat 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 ...

between 1845 and 1847.

Life

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, he was the eldest son of

Sir William Baillie, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

and his wife Mary Lyon Dennistoun, the youngest daughter of

James Dennistoun James Dennistoun of Dennistoun (1803 – 13 February 1855) was a Scottish advocate, antiquary and art collector. Life Dennistoun was born in Dumbartonshire in 1803, the eldest son of Mary Ramsay, daughter of George Oswald of Auchencruive and Ja ...

. Baillie 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 then at

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 ...

, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1836. While at Oxford, he rowed in the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

in the second

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

which was held in 1836, when Cambridge won. He was also a part of the Head of the River crew at Oxford with his college boat, Christ Church. Baillie served as captain in the Midlothian Yeomanry Cavalry, and was

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

commanding the

Edinburgh City Artillery The Edinburgh City Artillery was a part-time unit of Britain's Volunteer Force raised in the City of Edinburgh in 1859. It was the parent unit for a number of batteries in the later Territorial Force, including heavy batteries of the Royal Garr ...

from 1866 to 1884. In 1845 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

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...

, sitting for the next two years. Baillie was a Deputy Lieutenant of Linlithgowshire from 1850 and was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. In 1878 he was the honorary commander of the City Artillery Volunteer Corps based at 27

Cockburn Street, Edinburgh Cockburn Street is a picturesque street in Edinburgh's Old Town, created as a serpentine link from the High Street to Waverley Station in 1856. It is named after the then recently-deceased Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure Henry, Lor ...

.Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.2 p.283

Family

On 14 April 1846, Baillie married Mary Stewart, the eldest daughter of Stair Hathorn Stewart. In 1854, he succeeded his father as baronet, and when Baillie died childless in 1890, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his nephew George.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillie, William 1816 births 1890 deaths Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Deputy Lieutenants of Linlithgowshire Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Eton College

Life

Family

See also

References

External links