Sir John George Tollemache Sinclair, 3rd Baronet (8 November 1825 – 30 September 1912) was a Scottish landowner and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1869 to 1885.

Early life

Born in Edinburgh in 1825, he was the son of Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet, and Lady Catherine Camilla Tollemache, daughter of William Talmash, Lord Huntingtower. He was a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The on ...

for

Queen Adelaide , house = Saxe-Meiningen , father = Georg I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen , mother = Princess Louise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg , birth_date = , birth_place = Meiningen, Saxe-Meiningen, Holy ...

. Sinclair was educated at Cheam School and the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

Career

He served as a lieutenant in the

Scots Fusilier Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the ...

. In 1861 he was made Vice-

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

for Caithness. In 1868 he succeeded his father to the baronetcy. Sinclair was elected

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 Caithness in 1869 and held the seat until 1885. His majority of 13 over the Conservative candidate at the 1874 election is one of the smallest on record. At the 1885 General election, his son Clarence succeeded him as Liberal candidate, but was defeated by

Gavin Brown Clark Dr Gavin Brown Clark (1846 – 5 July 1930) was the MP for Caithness from 1885 to 1900. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh and King's College London, graduating in medicine. An active campaigner for soc ...

, the

Crofters' Party The Crofters' Party was the parliamentary arm of the Highland Land League The first Highland Land League ( gd, Dionnasg an Fhearainn) emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highl ...

candidate.

Personal life

In 1853, Sinclair married Emma Standish, daughter of William Standish, Duxbury Park,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, and Cocken Hall,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. Before their marriage was dissolved in 1878, the couple had two sons and two daughters: * Amy Camilla Sinclair (–1925), who married John Henry Udny of

Udny Castle Udny may refer to: * Udny Station, a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland * Udny Green, a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland * Clan Udny, a Scottish clan from Aberdeenshire, Scotland * Udny Yule (1871–1951), British statistician See also ...

, grandson of diplomat John Udny. * Nina Mary Adelaide Sinclair (1856–1924), who married Owen Lewis Cope Williams, son of Lt.-Col. Thomas Peers Williams. * Clarence Granville Sinclair (1858–1895), who married American heiress Mabel Sands, daughter of

Mahlon Day Sands Mahlon Day Sands (March 1, 1842 - May 7, 1888) was an American merchant. Early life Sands was born on March 1, 1842, in New York City. He was a son of merchant Abraham B. Sands (1815–1861) and Sarah A. ( Day) Sands (1816–1906). His brothers we ...

, and half-sister of

Ethel Sands Ethel Sands (6 July 1873 – 19 March 1962) was an American-born artist and hostess who lived in England from childhood. She studied art in Paris, where she met her life partner Anna Hope Hudson (Nan). Her works were generally still lifes and ...

. * George Felix Standish Sinclair JP (1861–1943), who married Margaret Sinclair, a daughter of Alexander Young Sinclair (son of

Sir John Sinclair, 6th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

). Sir John died on 30 September 1912. As he predeceased his eldest son Clarence, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, who was later created

Viscount Thurso Viscount Thurso, of Ulbster in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 June 1952 for the Scottish Liberal politician and former Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Ba ...

in 1952.

Interests

Sinclair was the earliest born person to have made a gramophone disc recording. He made titles for Columbia, Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd. and Odeon, all in 1906. He also commissioned a statue of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, at 143–144 Fleet Street,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, John, 3rd Baronet 1825 births 1912 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People educated at Cheam School Politicians from Edinburgh Scots Guards officers Scottish landowners Alumni of University College, Durham 19th-century Scottish businesspeople