Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, (24 September 1887 – 5 January 1952) was a British Unionist politician, agriculturalist, and colonial administrator. He served as Governor-General and Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. He was usually referred to simply as Linlithgow. He served as vice president 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 ...

Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh The chancellor is the titular head of the University of Edinburgh. Their duties include conferring degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering its interests, both within Scotland and beyond. The position was cr ...

and Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Early life and family

Hope was born at Hopetoun House,

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the n ...

Linlithgowshire West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...

, Scotland, on 24 September 1887. He was the eldest son of John Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, later 1st Marquess Linlithgow, and Hersey Everleigh-de-Moleyns, Countess of Hopetoun and later Marchioness of Linlithgow, daughter of the fourth

Baron Ventry Baron Ventry, of Ventry in the County of Kerry, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Sir Thomas Mullins, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Burnham in the County of Kerry, in the Baronetage of Ireland ...

.Viceroy at Bay: Lord Linlithgow in India, 1936–43, by John Glendevon His godmother was

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

. He was educated at

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent b ...

and

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 ...

and on 29 February 1908 succeeded his father as 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow. In 1912, aged only 25, he was elected a Fellow of the

. His proposers were William Turner,

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...

Cargill Gilston Knott Cargill Gilston Knott FRS, FRSE LLD (30 June 1856 – 26 October 1922) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was a pioneer in seismological research. He spent his early career in Japan. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Society, ...

and

James Haig Ferguson James Haig Ferguson LLD FRSE FRCPE FRCSEd (18 December 1862 – 2 May 1934) was a prominent Scottish obstetrician and gynaecologist. He served as President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1929 to 1931 and was president of ...

. He served as the society's vice president from 1934 to 1937.

Early career

Linlithgow served as an officer on the Western Front during the

First World War 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, ...

. Transferred from

Lothians and Border Horse The Lothians and Border Horse was a Yeomanry regiment, part of the British Territorial Army. It was ranked 36th in the Yeomanry order of precedence and was based in the Scottish Lowland area, recruiting in the Lothians – East Lothian (Hadd ...

, he commanded a battalion of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

. He was mentioned in dispatches and appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, ending the war with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

. He then served in various minor roles in the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

governments of the 1920s and '30s. From 1922 till 1924 he served as the civil lord of the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

, becoming chairman of the Unionist Party Organisation in 1924 for two years. He also served as president of the Navy League from 1924 until 1931. He was chairman of the Medical Research Council and of the governing body of the

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. Linlithgow was also chairman of the committee on the distribution and prices of agricultural produce and president of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture until 1933. In 1926 he was chairman of the Royal Commission on Agriculture in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, which published its findings in 1928. (Full text at Internet Archive) Influenced by submissions to the Royal Commission, "a decade later, when (he) became Viceroy of India he showed a personal interest in nutrition, pushing it to the top of the research agenda". The reason for sending a Commission on Agriculture under Linlithgow was 'because constitutional reform without economic and educational reform will do nothing to ameliorate the condition of life of the mass of the population of India, and this is what matters most.' From April 1933 to November 1934 he was chairman of the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Indian constitutional reform, drawn up to consider the proposals for Indian self-government contained in the government's March 1933

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...

. He agreed to take the job after Lord Salisbury declined it (although he agreed to serve on the committee) and

Sidney Peel Sir Sidney Cornwallis Peel, 1st Baronet (1870–1938), was a British army officer, barrister and financier. He was also for the coalition government term 1918–1922, a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). For the 19 years until death he was ...

, the second choice, fell ill with

phlebitis Phlebitis (or Venitis) is inflammation of a vein, usually in the legs. It most commonly occurs in superficial veins. Phlebitis often occurs in conjunction with thrombosis and is then called thrombophlebitis or superficial thrombophlebitis. Unlike ...

. Linlithgow told the Joint Select Committee that he would show no favouritism between the Indian factions (Hindus, Muslims and Princely States) and would be neutral just as he was between his own five children. The committee's proposals became the

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act, 1935 was an Act adapted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest Act of (British) Parliament ever enacted until the Greater London Authority ...

Viceroy

Scotland-2016-West Lothian-Hopetoun House 01

Having previously declined both the governorship of Madras and the governor-generalship of Australia (his father was the first Governor-General of Australia), he became the

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

, succeeding

Lord Willingdon Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941), was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and ...

. Travelling out to India on the P&O liner RMS ''Strathmore'', he arrived in Bombay, with his wife, daughters, and personal staff, on 17 April 1936. Linlithgow implemented the plans for local self-government embodied in the

, which led to provincial governments led by the

Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in five of the eleven provinces of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, but the recalcitrance of the princes prevented the establishment of elected governments in most of the

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

. With the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Linlithgow's rejection of the request by the Congress for a declaration that India would be given the chance to determine its own future after the war led to the resignation of the Congress ministries. On 8 August 1940 Lord Linlithgow made a statement on behalf of the British government. It was known as the

August Offer The August Offer was an offer made by Viceroy Linlithgow in 1940 promising the expansion of the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India to include more Indians, the establishment of an advisory war council, giving full weight to minority opin ...

and offered greater rights in the governance of India to the Indian people. The proposal was rejected by most Indian politicians, including the Congress Party and the Muslim League. Disputes between the British administration and Congress ultimately led to massive Indian civil disobedience in the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

. Linlithgow suppressed the disturbances and arrested the Congress leaders. Some historians have partly blamed Linlithgow for the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 0.8 to 3.8 million Bengalis perished, out of a population of 60.3 mill ...

which resulted in three million deaths.

Retirement

His seven-year tenure as viceroy, the longest in the history of the Raj, ended in 1943. Indians were less kind in their assessments of his career.

V. P. Menon Rao Bahadur Vappala Pangunni Menon, CSI, CIE (30 September 1893 – 31 December 1965) was an Indian civil servant who served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of the States, under Sardar Patel. By appointment fr ...

in ''The Transfer of Power in India'' stated: "His 7½ year regime – longer than that of any other Viceroy – was conspicuous by its lack of positive achievement. When he left India, famine stalked portions of the countryside. There was economic distress due to the rising cost of living and the shortage of essential commodities. On the political side, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru expressed the general feeling thus: 'Today, I say, after seven years of Lord Linlithgow's administration the country is much more divided than it was when he came here'." A sincere

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

, he served as

Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the Scottish monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of ...

in 1944 and 1945. He died in 1952.

Styles

*1887–1902: Victor Alexander John Hope, Viscount Aithrie *1902–1908: Victor Alexander John Hope, Earl of Hopetoun *1908–1917: ''

The Most Honourable The honorific prefix "The Most Honourable" is a form of address that is used in several countries. In the United Kingdom, it precedes the name of a marquess or marchioness. Overview In Jamaica, Governors-General of Jamaica, as well as their spo ...

'' The Marquess of Linlithgow *1917–1919: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, TD *1919–1928: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, OBE, TD *1928–1929: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT, OBE, TD *1929–1935: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT,

GCIE The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No ap ...

, OBE, TD *1935–1936: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT, GCIE, OBE, TD, PC *1936–1943: ''

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the ri ...

'' The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, Viceroy and Governor-General of India, KT,

GCSI The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India, GCSI) # ...

, GCIE, OBE, TD, PC *1943–1952: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KG, KT, GCSI, GCIE, OBE, TD, PC **in Scotland: May 1944, May 1945: ''His Grace'' The Lord High Commissioner

Honours

*: **

Knight of the Most Noble

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the Georg ...

(KG) **

Knight Companion of the Most Ancient and Most Noble

Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order. The O ...

(KT) **

Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointmen ...

(GCSI) **

Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

(GCIE) **

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

Officer of the Most Excellent

(OBE) **

Ribbon - Efficiency Decoration (South Africa)

Recipient of the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the T ...

(TD)

Family

Doreen Maud Hope née Milner, Marchioness of Linlithgow, National Portrait Gallery, Creative Commons License

On 19 April 1911 he married Doreen Maud Milner (1886–1965), the younger daughter of Sir Frederick Milner. They had twin sons and three daughters: *

Charles William Frederick Hope, 3rd Marquess of Linlithgow Charles William Frederick Hope, 3rd Marquess of Linlithgow MC (7 April 1912 – 7 April 1987) was a British peer and businessman. Early years The son of Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow. He was the elder twin brother of John Hope, 1st B ...

(7 April 1912 – 1987); succeeded to his father's marquessate *

John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Baron Glendevon John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Baron Glendevon, PC (7 April 1912 – 18 January 1996), known as Lord John Hope from 1912 to 1964, was a British aristocrat and Tory politician. Early life Hope was the younger son of Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of L ...

(7 April 1912 – 18 January 1996); became a Conservative statesman and married the daughter of the English novelist

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

*Lady Anne Adeline (27 January 1914 – 2007) *Lady Joan Isabella (21 September 1915 – 1989) *Lady Doreen Hersey Winifred (17 June 1920 – 22 January 1997), the mother of

Lucinda Green Lucinda Jane Green (née Prior-Palmer, born 7 November 1953) is a British equestrian and journalist who competed in eventing. She is the 1982 World Champion and twice European Champion (1975–77). She also won World tea ...

, a famous

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

. In some circles the three girls were known as Faint Hope, Little Hope, and No Hope.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Linlithgow, Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess Of Viceroys of India 1930s in British India 1940s in British India Lords of the Admiralty World War II political leaders 1887 births 1952 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Royal Scots officers Scottish Presbyterians Knights of the Garter Knights of the Thistle Lord-Lieutenants of West Lothian Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Officers of the Order of the British Empire Chancellors of the University of Edinburgh Victor Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Deputy Lieutenants of Linlithgowshire India in World War II Unionist Party (Scotland) politicians People from South Queensferry Scottish agriculturalists Marquesses of Linlithgow Politicians from Edinburgh People educated at Ludgrove School