James Graham, 1st Duke and 4th Marquess of Montrose (April 16827 January 1742) was a Scottish

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

statesman in the early eighteenth century.

Life

He was the only son of James Graham, 3rd Marquess of Montrose and Lady Christian Leslie. On 31 March 1702 he married Christian, daughter of David Carnegie, 3rd Earl of Northesk. Together, they had several sons, including William Graham and Lord George Graham. Originally the fourth Marquess of Montrose, James was elevated to a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

dom in 1707, as a reward for his important support of the Act of Union, whilst being Lord President of the

Scottish Privy Council The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

. He was

Lord High Admiral of Scotland Lord High Admiral of Scotland was the name of one of the Great Officers of State of the Kingdom of Scotland before the Union with England in 1707. The office was one of considerable power, also known as ''Royal Scottish Admiralty'', including ...

from 1705 to 1706. He was

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II of Scotland, David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peerage, peer, like the Great Seal of Sco ...

from 1709 to 1713 and served as

Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland The keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''Neach-gleidhidh Seula Mòr na h-Alba'') is one of the great officers of state in Scotland held concurrently with the post of first minister of Scotland. The office holder is the keeper ...

from 1716 to 1733. He was also a Lord of the Regency for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1714, upon the death of Queen Anne. Furthermore, he served briefly as

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

at the time of the Georgian ministry of Lord Townshend. In 1719, he was one of the main subscribers to the Royal Academy of Music (1719), a corporation that produced

baroque opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

on the stage. He served as a governor of London's

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...

at the time of its foundation in 1739. For much of his adult life he was chancellor of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. Apart from his political career, he was a primary creditor of Robert Roy MacGregor, who blamed the Duke for his financial ruin; MacGregor then carried out a feud with Graham for some years. Montrose was responsible for corruption charges, earning himself unpopularity through the famous Jacobite. His name was listed by Lockhart in 1711 amongst other high profile people who were claimed to have received bribes to support the vote on the Union. The Duke was said to have received £1,000 (approx. £160,000 in 2024 value) as inducement. On his death Graham was buried at Aberuthven. The grave is within Montrose Mausoleum.

Issue

* James Graham, Lord Graham (7 April 1703–2 March 1704) * David Graham, 1st Earl Graham (8 June 1705–30 September 1731) * Lord Christian Graham (29 Oct 1706–30 May 1711)James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Robert Douglas's The Peerage of Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland: David Douglas, 1904), vol. VI, p. 265. * Lady Elizabeth Graham (23 April 1708–17 February 1711)James Balfour Paul, The Scots Peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Robert Douglas's The Peerage of Scotland (Edinburgh, Scotland: David Douglas, 1904), vol. VI, p. 266. * Lord John Graham (9 April 1709–19 March 1710) * Lord James Graham (26 March 1710–3 April 1711) * Lord Thomas Graham (7 March 1711–27 December 1711) * William Graham, 2nd Duke of Montrose (27 Aug 1712–23 September 1790) * Lady Margaret Graham (5 June 1714–1 April 1729) * Captain Lord George Graham (26 September 1715–2 January 1747)

In popular culture

Harold French Harold French (23 April 1897 – 19 October 1997) was an English film director, screenwriter and actor. Biography After training at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Italia Conti School, he made his acting debut age 12, in a produ ...

's '' Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue'', Graham is played by Michael Gough. In

Michael Caton-Jones Michael Caton-Jones (born Michael Jones; 15 October 1957) is a Scottish director and producer of film and television. Biography Caton-Jones grew up in Broxburn, near Edinburgh. He moved to London and squatted in Stoke Newington. He attend ...

's '' Rob Roy'', Graham is played by

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

. In this depiction he is referred to as the "Marquess of Montrose", despite his title being raised to a dukedom in 1707.

Ancestry

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montrose, James Graham, 1st Duke of 1682 births 1742 deaths Keepers of the Great Seal of Scotland 201 Secretaries of State for Scotland Presidents of the Privy Council of Scotland Scottish representative peers Chancellors of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society Commissioners of the Treasury of Scotland 17th-century Scottish peers