Archibald Napier, 2nd Lord Napier (c. 1625–1660) was a Scottish peer and the grandson of

John Napier John Napier of Merchiston ( ; Latinisation of names, Latinized as Ioannes Neper; 1 February 1550 – 4 April 1617), nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8 ...

of Merchiston.

Biography

Archibald Napier was the son of the 1st Lord Napier. As a nephew of

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet, soldier and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequ ...

, Napier supported him in his

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

endeavours. When Montrose left

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 ...

for

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in 1646, Napier accompanied him. When Montrose returned, Napier stayed in

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and

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. When in 1650 he sought to return to his home in Scotland, he asked permission of King Charles to rejoin his uncle, and this was granted. However, before he could return, Montrose was captured, tried and executed. Lord Napier decided against returning to Scotland. Due to his unflagging Royalist support, he was excepted from

Cromwell's Act of Grace Cromwell's Act of Grace, or more formally the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, was an Act of the Parliament of England that declared that the people of Scotland (with certain exceptions) were pardoned for any crimes they migh ...

on 12 April 1654 and his lands were confiscated by the Commonwealth. He died in the Netherlands at Delfsham ( Delfshaven) in the

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at the beginning of 1660, so did not live to see the Restoration.

Family

Archibald Napier was a member of the Napier family of Merchiston,

, and the grandson of

, the inventor of logarithms. Around 1642 he married Lady Elizabeth Erskine (d. 1683), the eldest daughter of John Erskine, 19th (or 3rd) Earl of Mar. Elizabeth Erskine was a prisoner in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

in August 1645 with her sister-in-law Lilias Napier.''HMC Mar & Kellie'' (London, 1904), p. 201. They had five children: * Archibald (d. 1683), who succeeded as 3rd Lord Napier. *John (d. 1672) *Jean, who married Sir Thomas Nicolson of Carnock, whose son,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

(1669–1686), became the fourth Lord Napier. *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(d. 1706), who became Lady Napier, fifth holder of the title in her own right (whose grandson,

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(1702–1773), became the sixth holder of the title as the sixth Lord Napier). *Mary, who died unmarried.

References

External links

a discussion of his family
1620s births 1660 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Lords of Parliament (pre-1707) Lords Napier Younger sons of barons Archibald 17th-century Scottish peers {{Lord-of-Parliament-stub