Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, (2 December 1833 – 17 January 1900), styled Lord Schomberg Kerr until 1870, was a British diplomat 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 in ...

politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

between 1887 and 1892. He was usually styled simply as Lothian.

Background and education

Lothian was the second son of

John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian John William Robert Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1 February 1794 – 14 November 1841), styled Lord Newbottle until 1815 and Earl of Ancram from 1815 to 1824, was a Tory politician. He served briefly as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under ...

, and Lady Cecil Kerr. His younger brothers

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Lord Ralph Kerr (1837–1916) and Admiral of the Fleet

Lord Walter Kerr Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr, (28 September 1839 – 12 May 1927) was a Royal Navy officer. After taking part in the Crimean War and then the Indian Mutiny, he supervised the handover of Ulcinj to Montenegro to allow Montenegro ...

(1839–1927) both had distinguished military careers.thepeerage.com Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian
/ref> He was educated at Trinity College Glenalmond, now

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. ...

Perth, and was one of the first of 14 boys to join the newly started school in 1847. He later went to

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 ...

before attending New College, Oxford. He did not graduate.

Diplomatic and political career

Lothian entered the Diplomatic Service and was an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in 1854,

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

in 1855 and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

from 1857, then second secretary at

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

from 1862,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

from 1865, and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

from 1865. In 1870, he succeeded to the marquessate on the early death of his childless elder brother, and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. In 1886, he was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, and the following year he succeeded

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As foreign secretary in the ...

as Secretary for Scotland and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department in

's Conservative administration. However, in contrast to Balfour, he was not a member of the cabinet. He remained as head of the Scotland Office until the government fell in 1892. Apart from his political career, Lord Lothian was

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has re ...

from 1874, a post he held until his death 26 years later, and was also

Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland ( gd, Seala Mòr na h-Alba) is a principal national symbol of Scotland that allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix ...

while Secretary for Scotland. In 1878, he was created a

Knight of the Thistle A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, and in 1882 he received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

(

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

) from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. The students of the same university elected him

Rector of the University of Edinburgh The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role Th ...

between 1887 and 1890. He was a Trustee of the Board of Manufactures in Scotland until his death. He was Captain-General of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a per ...

, president of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

(1876-1890) and

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

(1894-1898), and a Knight of Grace of the

Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

. From 1878 to 1889, he 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 colo ...

commanding the 3rd (Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia) Battalion, Royal Scots, (which had previously been commanded by his father and grandfather) and he later became Honorary Colonel of that battalion.''Army List''.

Family

Lord Lothian married, in 1865, Lady Victoria Alexandrina (d.1938), daughter of

Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry, (born Walter Francis Montagu-Scott; 25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 18 ...

. They had three sons and six daughters: * Lady Cecil Kerr (14 February 1866 - 13 September 1919) married John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu de Beaulieu * Walter William Schomberg Kerr, Earl of Ancram (29 March 1867 – June 1892) * Lady Margaret Kerr (12 June 1868 - 2 September 1964) * Lord Schomberg Kerr (4 August 1869 – 1877) * Lady Mary Kerr (25 December 1870 - 31 December 1958), married Henry Kidd * Lady Helen Kerr (9 December 1872 - 4 June 1968), married in 1902 her relative Major Frederic Walter Kerr (1867–1914), son of Admiral Lord Frederic Kerr (1818–1896), who was the youngest son of

William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, (4 October 1763 – 27 April 1824), was a British soldier, landowner and politician. He was the son of William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian. He served as a representative peer from 1817 to 1824. Life Ke ...

* Robert Schomberg Henry Kerr, 10th marquess of Lothian – 22 March 1874 * Lady Victoria Kerr (7 November 1876 - 23 May 1956) married William Sullivan Gosling * Lady Isobel Alice Adelaide Kerr (25 September 1881 - 26 December 1975) married James Cospatrick Hepburne-Scott The eldest son Walter Kerr, Earl of Ancram (1867–1892) died in a shooting accident in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in June 1892, unmarried, while his second son Lord Schomberg Kerr (1869–1877) died in infancy. Lord Lothian died at his town residence in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 17 January 1900, aged 66, and was succeeded in the marquessate by his third and only surviving son, Robert. The Marchioness of Lothian later remarried and died in June 1938, aged 93.

References

*Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lothian, Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess Of 1833 births 1900 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford Knights of the Thistle Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Secretaries for Scotland Rectors of the University of Edinburgh People educated at Glenalmond College Members of the Royal Company of Archers Royal Scots officers Marquesses of Lothian Presidents of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland People educated at Eton College