Alexander Montgomerie, 10th Earl of Eglinton (10 February 172325 October 1769), was a Scottish peer. Eglinton was the son of The 9th Earl of Eglinton. His mother, who was the third wife of the 9th Earl, was Susanna, Countess of Eglinton, the society beauty. He was the Grand Master Mason of the

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

from 1750 to 1751. Lord Eglinton was one of the first of the Scottish landowners to carry out improvements on his estates. He planned and built the conservation village of

Eaglesham Eaglesham ( or , or ; ; ) is a village in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, situated about south of Glasgow, southeast of Newton Mearns and south of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, Clarkston, and southwest of East Kilbride. The 2011 census reveal ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, in 1769 around the basic plan of a capital 'A'. The

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ...

introduced the young

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

to the joys of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

society in the early 1760s, and figures prominently in ''Boswells London Journal, 1762-63''. The Earl was shot on the beach near his own estate of

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

by an excise officer or ''Gaudger'' (Scots) named Mungo Campbell on 24 October 1769 following a dispute about the latter's

right to bear arms The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

on the Earl's grounds. The Earl died from his abdominal wounds late that evening. Campbell was convicted of murder but died by his own hand before the sentence could be carried out.Account of the murder of the 10th Earl of Eglinton
File:1769 Murder of 10th Earl of Eglinton.JPG, A panel from the coach in which the 10th Earl travelled during the Mungo Campbell incident. File:10th Earl of Eglinton, 1769 carriage panel.JPG, The outside facing side of the panel from the coach in which the 10th Earl travelled during the Mungo Campbell incident.

References

External links

Alexander Montgomerie (1723–1769)
at James Boswell – a Guide 1723 births 1769 deaths Nobility from North Ayrshire 10 East Renfrewshire Scottish murder victims People murdered in Scotland Deaths by firearm in Scotland Scottish representative peers Eaglesham Clan Montgomery People murdered in 1769 {{Scotland-earl-stub