Stained glass of Thomas Dawson Brodie in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Sir Thomas Dawson Brodie, 1st Baronet of Idvies

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1832–1896) was a Scottish lawyer and peer and progenitor of the Scottish law firm

Brodies Brodies LLP A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liabilities. It therefore can exhibit elements of partnerships and corporations. In an LLP, each ...

Life

He was born Thomas Brodie 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 ...

on 26 December 1832 the son of John Clerk Brodie WS (1811-1888) and his wife Bethia Garden Souter. His mother died when Thomas was 12 years old and his father remarried. He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, is now part of the Se ...

from 1841 to 1847 then completed his education at Harrow. He then studied law at

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

before joining his father's law firm "Gibson, Craig & Brodie" at 26 Moray Place. He was created

Writer to the Signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

in 1857. From 1865 he ran a branch of his father's firm at 14 Alva Street moving to 4 St Colme Street in 1876 and to 9 Ainslie Place in 1880. Only in 1885 did the Brodies separate from the other partners and become known as "John Brodie & Sons". By this stage John Brodie was aged 74 and no longer an active partner. When his father died in 1888 he took over the law firm based at 5 Thistle Street in Edinburgh's First New Town. In July 1890 he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

. His proposers were Sir William Thomson, Lord Kelvin,

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook '' Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote wi ...

, Sir Arthur Mitchell and A Beatson. In 1892

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

created him as 1st Baronet of Idvies, Idvies being a country estate his father had purchased in Angus, east of

Forfar Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a p ...

. He died at home, 9 Ainslie PlaceEdinburgh Post Office Directory 1896 on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Backg ...

(formerly the home of

James Ivory, Lord Ivory James Ivory, Lord Ivory FRSE (1792 – 1866), was a Scottish judge. Life The son of Thomas Ivory, watchmaker and engraver, he was born in Dundee on 29 February 1792. His family lived and ran a business from the High Street in Dundee Sir James I ...

) in the West End of Edinburgh on 6 September 1896. He is buried with his parents in nearby

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

. The monument was sculpted by John Hutchison.

Family

In 1861 he married Charlotte Frederika Furnell. She died in 1871 and in 1876 he married Anne Dawson (d.1903). Only from 1877 did he style himself Dawson Turner.

Memorials

Brodie appears as a donor in the memorial window on the south stair of the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

Queen Street, Edinburgh Queen Street is the northernmost east-west street in Edinburgh's First New Town. It begins in the east, at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. It links York Place with the Moray Estate. It was named "Queen Street" after Queen Charlotte of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodie, Thomas Dawson 1832 births 1896 deaths People educated at Edinburgh Academy People educated at Harrow College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Scottish lawyers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Burials at the Dean Cemetery