Thomas Kennedy (1673 – 19 May 1754) was a Scottish lawyer from

Dunure, Ayrshire Dunure (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Iùbhair'', meaning Yew Hill) is a small village in the South Ayrshire area of Scotland about from Ayr, Scotland. It is located on the coast of the Firth of Clyde, and is near to Maybole, south of Ayr. The villa ...

, and a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician. He sat in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

from 1720 to 1721, and then became a judge of the Scottish Court of Exchequer.

Early life and family

He was the oldest son of Sir Thomas Kennedy of Kirkhill and Dunure (

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...

from 1685 to 1687) and Agnes Halden. He was educated 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 ...

and at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, and was admitted as an advocate in 1698. In 1714 he married Grizel Kynynmont, daughter of Patrick Kynynmont of Kynynmont, Fife, and widow of Sir Alexander Murray, 1st Baronet, of Melgund, Forfar. They had no children.

Career

Kennedy was joint

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

from 1709 to 1714, sharing the office with

Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet Sir James Stewart, 1st Baronet (or Steuart; 1681 – 9 August 1727) was a Scottish lawyer and politician. Early life He was the first son of Sir James Stewart of Goodtrees (1635–1713) by his first wife Agnes, daughter of the Rev. Robert Trail ...

. He was appointed as

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

in March 1714, but he was dismissed in October 1714 after

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria ( fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

succeeded to the throne. He later supported the 2nd Duke of Argyll, who organised his return at a by-election in January 1720 as

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 ...

(MP) for Ayr Burghs. He ended his parliamentary career a year later, when he was appointed as a judge of the Scottish Court of Exchequer.

References

1673 births 1754 deaths People from South Ayrshire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Utrecht University alumni Solicitors General for Scotland Lord Advocates Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 Barons of the Court of Exchequer (Scotland) Members of the Faculty of Advocates {{Scotland-law-bio-stub