Donald Cameron of Lochiel, (5 April 1835 – 30 November 1905) was a Scottish landowner,

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

Member of Parliament and diplomat. He was the 24th Chief of

Clan Cameron Clan Cameron is a West Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber, and within their lands lies Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isl ...

Early life

Lochiel was the eldest son of

Donald Cameron, 23rd Lochiel Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Donald Cameron of Lochiel, (25 September 1796 – 2 December 1858) was a Scottish soldier, distinguished in the Waterloo campaign, and the Chiefs of Clan Cameron, 23rd Chief of Clan Cameron. Bi ...

and Lady Vere Catherine Louisa Hobart (1803–1888), of

Hampden House Hampden House is a country house in the village of Great Hampden, between Great Missenden and Princes Risborough in Buckinghamshire. It is named after the Hampden family. The Hampdens (later Earls of Buckinghamshire) are recorded as owning the ...

, Buckinghamshire. His mother, a sister of the 5th Earl of Buckinghamshire, was the daughter of the Hon. George Vere Hobart by his second wife Janet Maclean, a scion of the Macleans of Coll and Camerons of Glendessary.

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

joyously celebrated the birth of Lochiel's heir during the spring of 1835, with commemorative dinners held by Camerons 'from Ballachulish Ferry to the Marches of Knoydart', as well as the lighting of bonfires on

Ben Nevis Ben Nevis ( ; , ) is the highest mountain in Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles. Ben Nevis stands at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Highland region of Lochaber, close to the town of Fort William. The mount ...

. He was educated at Harrow, and shortly thereafter entered into the

Diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

Career

Diplomacy

Entering the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

in 1852, Cameron was to be employed in diplomatic service in Europe and the Far East. In 1857, he was appointed First

Attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

of the

Earl of Elgin Earl of Elgin ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 Ju ...

's special embassy to China during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

. He was then at the British embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he met with

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

, and was also a paid Attaché at

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He retired from the diplomatic service in 1859.

Public life

At the 1868 general election Cameron was elected Member of Parliament for

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

and took his seat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

, which he held until 1885. He was a Justice of the peace and Deputy lieutenant for Inverness-shire and Buckinghamshire, respectively.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> From 1887, he held the office of Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire. From 1874 to 1880, Lochiel served as groom-in-waiting to

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, whom he had hosted during a Royal visit to Achnacarry in 1873. Active in sheep farming, Lochiel had to take on the stakes of most of the sheep farms on his estate during the acute depression in the industry. As such, he had an intimate knowledge of the shepherds plight, and that of the related business of

deer stalking Deer stalking, or simply stalking, is a British term for the stealthy pursuit of deer on foot to hunt for venison, for leisure, as trophies, or to control their numbers as part of wildlife management, just as with rabbiting and boar hunting. D ...

. He was appointed in 1883 to the Napier Association, to enquire into the grievances of the Crofters, and was later named to the Deer Forest Commission in 1894. He owned 125,000 acres, with 110,000 in Inverness-shire, 16,000 in Argyll and 400 in Buckinghamshire. The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland

Marriage and children

In 1875, Lochiel married

Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott Lady Margaret Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott (10 October 1846 – 5 February 1918), later known as Lady Margaret Cameron of Lochiel, was a Scottish aristocrat. Life Lady Margaret Scott was born at Dalkeith Palace in 1846, the second daughter ...

, the second daughter of

Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry (25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a prominent Scottish nobleman ...

, by his wife Lady Charlotte Thynne, the daughter of

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (25 January 1765 – 27 March 1837), styled Viscount Weymouth from 1789 until 1796, was a British peer. Life Early life Thynne was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, and Elizabeth Thy ...

. They had four sons: * Col. Sir Donald Walter Cameron, 25th Lochiel, (1876–1951), commanding officer of the

Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (the Duke of Albany's) to form ...

who succeeded as Chief; married Lady Hermione Graham, daughter of the 5th Duke of Montrose. * Capt. Ewen Charles Cameron (1878–1958), officer of the Lovat Scouts. * Allan George Cameron (1880–1914), killed near Aisne during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. * Archibald Cameron (1886–1917), killed at the Battle of Arras during World War I.

Commemoration

Donald Cameron of Locheil 1855-1905 - geograph

Lochiel is commemorated with a statue in Fort William on the Parade, erected circa 1905. He is depicted in full Highland regalia with an inscription in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

which reads: ''Dòmhnall'' ''Camshron'' ''mac Dhòmhnaill Dubh''. The statue serves as tribute to a Highland gentleman who faithfully served both Lochaber and his clan during his lifetime.

References

External links

*
XXIV Chief: Donald Cameron of Lochiel, M.P.

1835 births 1905 deaths Lord-lieutenants of Inverness-shire Scottish diplomats British diplomats in China British people of the Second Opium War Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Lochiel, Donald Cameron, 7th Lord Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Donald Scottish clan chiefs

Donald Donald is a Scottish masculine given name. It is derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinter ...

Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society