Commodore James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose (1 May 1878 – 20 January 1954) was a Scottish nobleman, naval officer, politician and engineer. He took the first film of a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mon ...

and is credited as the inventor of the aircraft carrier.

Personal life

Mary Louise Hamilton, Philip Alexius de Laszlo, 1912

The eldest son of

Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose Douglas Beresford Malise Ronald Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose KT (7 November 1852 – 10 December 1925), initially styled as the Marquess of Graham, was a Scottish nobleman, racehorse owner, soldier and the 5th Duke of Montrose. He was the son ...

, James Graham was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

. In 1906 he married Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton, the only child of the 12th Duke of Hamilton. They had four children: James (later the 7th Duke), Lady Mary Graham, Lord Ronald Graham and

Lady The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Inf ...

Jean Graham Jean E. Graham is an American scholar, translator, and professor of English at The College of New Jersey, where she has taught since 1994. She teaches courses in British literature (especially Milton and Shakespeare), young adult literature, and ...

Career

As a mariner, he served in the Mercantile Marine and ASC in South Africa, during which time he obtained the first film ever taken of a total

eclipse of the Sun A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mon ...

during a

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

expedition to India in 1899, and took part in a mission in 1900 for Lloyd's of London to the South African Government to establish wireless telegraphic stations on the coast. Having been instrumental in founding the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in 1903, he served in the Auxiliary Naval Service during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and was later Commodore of the RNVR Clyde Division, then the East Coast of Scotland RNVR. On 12 October 1921, he was promoted Commodore 2nd Class and appointed Commodore of the entire RNVR, serving in this role until his retirement in 1927. As a result, from 1946 to 1968, whichever ship was attached to the Tay Division of the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

(in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

) was always temporarily renamed after the 6th Duke. In 1992, the seventh Duke-class frigate was so-named for the same reason. In his political life, he was unpaid assistant private secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1905, and Naval Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty. However, he was unsuccessful as the Scottish Unionist Party (effectively the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in Scotland) parliamentary candidate for Stirlingshire in 1906, and as the

candidate at the 1906 by-election at Eye, Suffolk, and at the subsequent general election in 1910; although holding the courtesy title of the Marquess of Graham from 1907 (when his father was the 5th Duke), he contested these elections as James Graham. He entered 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 ...

as the 6th Duke when he succeeded to the title in 1925. When the

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

movement decided to split from the avowedly anti-Home Rule Scottish Unionist Party in 1932, he became chairman of the new centre-right Scottish Party, and successfully steered it towards a merger with the centre-left National Party of Scotland in April 1934, therefore founding the modern Scottish National Party. He was elected the first President of the SNP, but joined the Liberal Party in 1936. During the

1933 Kilmarnock by-election The 1933 Kilmarnock by-election was a by-election held on 2 November 1933 for the House of Commons constituency of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. Vacancy The vacancy had arisen when Scotland's second most senior judge, the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord ...

campaign he made a prominent speech in support of the candidature of Alexander MacEwen, who would go on to be the first leader of the SNP, in the Grand Hall, Kilmarnock. In this speech he addressed the issue of the position of the relationship between Scottish home rule supporters and the Scotland's Irish community While he stated that he had "nothing but friendly feelings for the Irish", he added that when Ireland achieved Home Rule, "Scottish men and women were disenfranchised" and stated "as they did to us we should do to them and others." As an engineer, he was the inventor of the world's first naval aircraft carrier, when in 1912, as a director of William Beardmore and Company of Dalmuir, he designed a merchant vessel intended for delivery to the Lloyd Sabaudo Line of Italy as the SS ''Conte Rosso''. When war broke out in 1914, work on the vessel ceased, but was resumed in 1916 as an aircraft carrier. The conversion work was completed in September 1918, and the vessel was commissioned as – recognised as the first ever "flat top". The Duke was also designer and owner of the first seagoing heavy oil motorship. He was president of the British Institution of Marine Engineers in 1911, and president of the Junior Institution of Engineers in 1916 and 1917. Afterwards, he was vice-president of the Institution of Naval Architects, a Younger Brother of Trinity House, a trustee for the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, a member 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 ...

, and commodore of the

Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...

in Scotland. In 1935 he became the second president on the National Institute for the Deaf, a post he held until his death.

Honours

He was Lord Lieutenant of Buteshire from 1920 until 1953 and was Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

in 1942 and 1943. He was appointed a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in 1905, a Companion of the Bath in 1911 and 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 ...

in 1947. He was awarded an honorary degree by the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1931, at which time he was described by the University as being a "great and distinguished Scotsman".

Death

The Duke was staying at Turnberry Hotel in January 1954 when he suffered what was described as a slight

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

. However, his condition quickly worsened and he died at Drymen on 20 January, about a week after the onset of his illness.

Publications

* ''My Ditty Box'', The Duke of Montrose. Jonathan Cape, London, 1952

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, James Graham, 6th Duke of 1878 births 1954 deaths Military personnel from London Royal Navy officers

206 Year 206 ( CCVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Umbrius and Gavius (or, less frequently, year 959 ''Ab urbe condit ...

People educated at Eton College Knights of the Thistle Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-Lieutenants of Buteshire Royal Navy personnel of World War I Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Scottish engineers British naval architects Members of the Royal Company of Archers Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers British Merchant Navy officers Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Members of Trinity House