Sir William Rae, 3rd Baronet (14 April 1769 – 19 October 1842),
was a
Scottish politician and lawyer.
Life
He was born at Old Assembly Close off the
Royal Mile in Edinburgh, son of Margaret Stewart, youngest daughter of John Stewart of
Blairhall and
David Rae, Lord Eskgrove. He was educated at the
High School in Edinburgh and studied law at 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 ...
from 1785, qualifying as an advocate in 1791.
His first major role was as
Sheriff of Orkney and Shetland in 1801, but in 1809 he transferred to an equivalent post as
Sheriff of Edinburgh
The Sheriff of Edinburgh was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in the shire of Edinburgh (also known as Edinburghshire or Midlothian) in Scotland. In 1482 the burgh of Edinbu ...
, which he held until 1819.
He succeeded his father to the baronetcy in 1815.
He was
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
Anstruther Burghs, in
Fife, from 1819 to 1826,
Harwich,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, from 1827 to 1830,
Buteshire in 1830 and from 1833 to 1842, and for
Portarlington,
Queen's County,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, from 1831 to 1832.
He served as
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...
from 1819 to 1830 and from 1834 to 1835. In the aftermath of the
Peterloo Massacre
The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliament ...
, he reported to the Home Secretary,
Viscount Sidmouth, on radical unrest in Scotland. He was made a
Privy Councillor on 19 July 1830.
Grant's Old and New Edinburgh tells us that he was present at the
Great Edinburgh Fire of 1824, actively trying to extinguish the flames of the building on the
Royal Mile at the head of Old Assembly Close as it was "the house of his birth".
[Grants Old and New Edinburgh]
He died aged 73 at St Catherines, near
Mortonhall in south Edinburgh on 18 October 1842.
He is buried with his father and mother on the south-west corner of St Michael's church in
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 ...
. The stone is modest.
Family
In 1793 he married Mary Stuart.
Sources
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rae, Sir William, 3rd Baronet
1769 births
1842 deaths
Scottish lawyers
Lord Advocates
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Portarlington
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1820–1826
UK MPs 1826–1830
UK MPs 1830–1831
UK MPs 1831–1832
UK MPs 1832–1835
UK MPs 1835–1837
UK MPs 1837–1841
UK MPs 1841–1847
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Scottish sheriffs