Sir David Barnett Dundas, 2nd Baronet, (28 August 1803 – 30 March 1877) was a Scottish advocate, Liberal politician and agricultural improver.

Life

He was the son of

Robert Dundas of Beechwood Sir Robert Dundas, 1st Baronet of Beechwood (30 June 1761 – 4 January 1835) was a Scottish landowner and lawyer. Life He was born on 30 June 1761, the son of Elizabeth (née Turnbull) and the Rev Robert Dundas of Humbie in East Lothian. Des ...

, 1st Baronet Dundas (1761–1835) and Matilda Cockburn (daughter of

Archibald Cockburn Archibald Cockburn (1738 in Edinburgh, Midlothian – 20 June 1820) was a Scottish judge. He lived at Caroline Park House north of Edinburgh. Family Son of Archibald Cockburn of Cockpen and wife (m. 17 August 1735) Martha Dundas, daughter of ...

). He was born at the family mansion of Beechwood House near

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

, west

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 28 August 1803. In 1824, he acquired Henry Dundas's estate of

Dunira ''Dunira'' is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Frederic Moore in 1885. Species *'' Dunira calcara'' Holloway, 2005 Borneo *'' Dunira diplogramma'' (Hampson, 1912) Sri Lanka *'' Dunira fasciata'' Wileman & Sou ...

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

. On his father's death in 1835, David became the 2nd Baronet. Dundas was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and 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 uniq ...

. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1824, and appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in February 1840. He was elected to represent

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later c ...

in Parliament as a Liberal in March 1840. In July 1846 he was appointed

Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to ad ...

. At the time, it was the normal practice that accepting ministerial office caused a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

; he was re-elected on 28 July. In February 1846, he was knighted, a traditional perquisite of the office, but he resigned the position in March 1848 due to ill-health and returned to the backbenches. In May 1849, he was appointed Judge Advocate General, again re-elected in a by-election on 5 June, and made a member 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 mo ...

on 29 June. In 1851, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

his proposer being John Cockburn, the wine merchant who founded Cockburns of Leith. In 1852, he commissioned the architect

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred ...

to completely remodel the mansion at

and lived there until the late 1860s. He retired from politics in the 1852 general election, and was succeeded by the

Marquess of Stafford A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman ...

, also a Liberal. In retirement he lived and worked in his chambers at the Inner Temple; among other work, he served as a Trustee of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. His retirement from politics was not permanent; when Stafford was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

in March 1861 on becoming the third Duke of Sutherland, Dundas returned to Parliament. He stood down again in May 1867, being succeeded by Lord Ronald Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, the Duke's younger brother. He died on 30 March 1877.

Family

He married twice: firstly on 29 November 1841 to Catherine Whyte-Melville (d. 23 April 1856), sister of writer George John Whyte-Melville; secondly in 1858 to Lady Lucy Anne Pelham (1815–1901), daughter of Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester. Lucy was a gifted amateur artist. He had seven children by his first marriage: *Georgina Catherine Dundas (1843–1859) *Robert Dundas (1844–1865), who died unmarried *David Pelham Dundas (1845–1856), who died in childhood * Sir Sydenham James Dundas, 3rd Baronet (1849–1904), who died unmarried * Sir Charles Henry Dundas, 4th Baronet (1851–1908), who died unmarried * Sir George Whyte Melville Dundas, 5th Baronet (1856–1934), who married Matilda Louisa Mary Wilson, and had children *Lady Jane Dundas (died 1929), who married Reverend Francis Agnew Bickmore and had children Dundas's second marriage produced a son. Sydenham Jaspar Dundas (1859–1909).

Publications

*''On the Potato Disease – Crop 1845'' (1846)

References

*''Oliver & Boyd's new Edinburgh almanac and national repository for the year 1850''. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, 1850 *Gordon Goodwin, "Dundas, Sir David (1799–1877)", rev. H. C. G. Matthew, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 11 July 2006
* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundas, David, 2nd Baronet 1803 births 1877 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Westminster School, London Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies Members of the Inner Temple Knights Bachelor Solicitors General for England and Wales English King's Counsel Scottish King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel