John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe, KG, PC, FRS (30 April 1680–27 February 1741) was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

Ker was born on 30 April 1680. He was the second son of

Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe PC (6 May 1682) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Ker was the eldest son of four sons born to William Ker, 2nd Earl of Roxburghe and the Honourable Jane Ker, who were first cousins. Among his younger broth ...

, and Margaret Hay, daughter of

John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale John Hay, 1st Marquess and 2nd Earl of Tweeddale (c. 13 August 1625, Yester, East Lothian – 11 August 1697, Edinburgh) was Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Early life Hay was born in 1626. He was the eldest son of John Hay, 1st Earl of Tweeddale ( ...

. His older brother was

Robert Ker, 4th Earl of Roxburghe The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...

, and his younger brother was The Hon. William Ker, who fought on the Continent under the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

and was present at the Battle of Sheriffmuir. He served as Groom of the Bedchamber to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in 1714, and was a

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 Berwick and Dysart Burghs. John became 5th

Earl of Roxburghe Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

on the death of his elder brother Robert in 1696.

Career

In 1704, he was made a Secretary of State of Scotland, and he helped to bring about the union with England, being created

Duke of Roxburghe The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...

in 1707 for his services in this connection. This was the last creation in the

Scottish peerage The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union ...

. On 28 May 1707, he was admitted a FRS. The duke was a representative peer for Scotland in four parliaments.

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 Dolgor ...

made him a privy councillor and

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peer, like the Keeper of the Great Seal. The office has re ...

, and he was loyal to the king during the Jacobite rising in 1715. He served as Secretary of State for Scotland in the British Parliament from 1716 to 1725, but he opposed the malt tax, and in 1725 Sir Robert Walpole procured his dismissal from office. In April 1727, he was one of the six pall-bearers of

Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the g ...

's coffin at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. He was one of the original governors of the Foundling Hospital, a charity created by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

on 17 October 1739.

Personal life

On 1 January 1707/8, Roxburghe was married to widow Lady Mary Savile. Lady Mary was the only child of

Daniel Finch, 7th Earl of Winchilsea Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory statesman who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Origins He was born on 2 July 1647, the son of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl ...

. From her first marriage to

William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax William Savile, 2nd Marquess of Halifax (1665 – 31 August 1700) was the son of George Savile, 1st Viscount Halifax and Dorothy Savile, Viscountess Halifax (née Spencer). He was educated in Geneva in 1677 and matriculated at Christ Church, O ...

, she was the mother of Lady Mary Savile (who married

Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet (11 May 1688 – 4 December 1753) of Newbottle, Northamptonshire, known as Sackville Tufton until 1729, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 until 1729 when he succeeded to ...

in 1722) and Lady Dorothy Savile (who married

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, (25 April 1694 – 4 December 1753) was a British architect and noble often called the "Apollo of the Arts" and the "Architect Earl". The son of the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Ea ...

). Together, John and Mary were the parents of: * Robert Ker (–1755), who married his half-cousin Essex Mostyn, eldest daughter of

Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet (31 July 1673 – 5 May 1739), of Mostyn Hall, Holywell, Flintshire, was a Welsh Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons for 25 years from 1701 to 1735. Early life Mostyn was born on 3 ...

. The Duchess of Roxburghe died on 19 September 1718 and the Duke died on 27 February 1741.John M. Simpson, 'Ker, John, first duke of Roxburghe (c. 1680–1741)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2005. He was buried first in his family vault beneath Bowden Kirk. Later his remains were relocated to the Roxburghe Aisle attached to Kelso Abbey. Upon his death, his only son, who had been created ''Earl Ker of Wakefield'' in 1722, became 2nd duke.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxburghe, John Ker, 1st Duke of 1680 births 1741 deaths 1 Fellows of the Royal Society John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe 17th-century Scottish peers Scottish representative peers Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Knights of the Garter