Frederick William Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham (19 June 1855 – 31 January 1929) was a British

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

and a Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) politician.

Early life and education

Lambton was the second son of George Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham and his wife

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

Beatrix Frances Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn. He gained the rank of

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in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

Political career

Lambton was elected at the 1880 general election as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for South Durham, 384 and held that seat until the constituency was abolished for the 1885 general election. He did not stand in 1885, but having joined the Liberal unionists in 1885 he unsuccessfully contested

Berwick-Upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

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in 1892,Craig, op. cit., page 197 and a by-election in South East Durham in February 1898.Craig, op. cit., page 274 He was returned to 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 ...

after a fifteen-year absence at the 1900 general election, when he defeated Joseph Richardson, the Liberal winner of the 1898 by-election. Lambton was re-elected unopposed in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, but lost the seat by a wide margin to a Liberal candidate in January 1910. Lambton inherited the earldom and a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

from his twin brother, John Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham, on 18 September 1928 when the latter died with no legitimate children.

Marriage and children

Lambton married Beatrix Bulteel (1859 – 27 April 1937), his second cousin once removed, on 26 May 1879. They had six children: * Lady Violet Lambton (3 July 1880 – 22 February 1976), married John Egerton, 4th Earl of Ellesmere and had issue including John Egerton, 6th Duke of Sutherland. * Lady Lilian Lambton (8 December 1881 – 26 September 1966), married Charles Douglas-Home, 13th Earl of Home and had issue including

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Alec Douglas-Home Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel ( ; 2 July 1903 – 9 October 1995), known as Lord Dunglass from 1918 to 1951 and the Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

. * John Frederick Lambton, 5th Earl of Durham (7 October 1884 – 4 February 1970) * Hon Geoffrey Lambton (13 September 1887 – 1 September 1914), married Dorothy Leyland and had issue. * Hon Claud Lambton (3 December 1888 – 7 September 1976), married Olive Eleanor Lockwood and had issue. * Lady Joan Katherine Lambton (21 September 1893 – 4 January 1967), married Hugh Joicey, 3rd Baron Joicey and had issue.

Death

Lord Durham died on 31 January 1929 at the age of 73, having held the earldom for only 4 months, and was succeeded in the title by his elder son, John.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambton, Frederick Lambton, Viscount Durham, Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham, Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham, Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Frederick Lambton, 4th Earl of Durham Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Durham, E4 Liberal Unionist Party peers Coldstream Guards officers 19th-century British Army personnel