John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as

Secretary 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 ...

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

's short-lived 1886 administration.

Early life

Dalhousie was born at Aberdour House at

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

on 29 January 1847. He was the eldest son of Admiral

George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie Admiral George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie (26 April 1806 – 20 July 1880), known as George Ramsay until 1874, was a British naval officer. Career Ramsay was the son of Lieutenant-General the Honourable John Ramsay (1775–1842), fourth ...

, and Sarah Frances, daughter of William Robertson of Logan House. The Hon.

Charles Maule Ramsay Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Charles Maule Ramsay (27 January 1859 – 7 April 1936) was a British British Army, army officer and briefly a Liberal Unionist Party, Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament ...

, MP for

Forfarshire Angus (; ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals ...

, was his younger brother. He gained the

courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but is rather used by custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some context ...

of Lord Ramsay in 1874 when his father succeeded in the earldom of Dalhousie on the death of his first cousin,

Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie, (22 April 18016 July 1874), known as Fox Maule before 1852 and as The Lord Panmure between 1852 and 1860, was a British politician. Ancestry Dalhousie was the eldest son of William Maule, 1st Baron ...

. His paternal grandfather was The Hon. John Ramsay (the fourth son of

George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie (1730 – 15 November 1787) was a Scottish peer. He served as a Lord of Police (1775–82) and the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and was a List of Scottish representa ...

). After attending

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

, he matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

in 1875.

Career

Dalhousie followed his father into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, where he served from 1861 to 1879, achieving the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

. He was

Equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

to the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

between 1874 and 1876 and an Extra Equerry between 1876 and 1880.

Political career

Dalhousie was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in March 1880, but was forced to resign in July 1880 after succeeding his father in the earldom. After taking his 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 ...

he was appointed a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

in September 1880 by

, a position he held until the government fell in 1885. In April 1886 he succeeded George Trevelyan (who had resigned over

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

) as

in Gladstone's short-lived 1886 administration, although in contrast to Trevelyan he was not a member of the cabinet. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. He retained this post until the government fell in July 1886. He was made a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

in 1881.

Personal life

On 6 December 1877, Lord Dalhousie was married to Lady Ida Louisa Bennet. She was a daughter of

Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville Charles Augustus Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (10 January 1810 – 18 December 1899), styled Lord Ossulston between 1822 and 1859, was an Peerage, English peer and Conservative Party (UK), Cons ...

and

Olivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville Olivia Susan Bennet, Countess of Tankerville (18 July 1830 – 15 February 1922), formerly Lady Olivia Montagu, was the wife of Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville. Biography Olivia was the eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Duke of ...

(eldest daughter of

George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester DL (9 July 1799 – 18 August 1855), known as Viscount Mandeville from 1799 to 1843, was a British peer and Tory Member of Parliament. Early life George Montagu was born at Kimbolton Castle, Huntingdo ...

). She appeared in 'The World's Beauties' trading card series by cigarette producers

Allen & Ginter Allen & Ginter was a Richmond, Virginia, tobacco manufacturing company formed by John F. Allen and Lewis Ginter around 1880. The firm created and marketed the first cigarette cards for collecting and trading in the United States. Some of the not ...

. Together, Lord and Lady Dalhousie had five sons: * Arthur George Maule Ramsay, 14th Earl of Dalhousie (1878–1928), who married Lady Mary Heathcote-Drummond, a daughter of

Gilbert Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster Gilbert Henry Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 1st Earl of Ancaster, (born Heathcote 1 October 1830 – 24 December 1910), known as Lord Aveland from 1867 to 1888 and as Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1888 to 1892, was a British Liberal politic ...

, on 14 July 1903. * The Hon. Sir Patrick Ramsay (1879–1962), who married Dorothy Surtees on 15 October 1917. * Adm. The Hon. Sir Alexander Robert Maule Ramsay (1881–1972), who married

Princess Patricia of Connaught Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay (born Princess Patricia of Connaught; 17 March 1886 – 12 January 1974) was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Upon her marriage to Alexander Ramsay, she relinquished her title of a British princ ...

, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, on 27 February 1919. * The Hon. Charles Fox Maule Ramsay (1885–1926), who married Aline Rose Arbuthnot-Leslie, eldest of George Arbuthnot-Leslie of Warthill, in 1919. After his death, she married Maj. Hon. Arthur Michael Cosmo Bertie (a son of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon). * Lt. Hon. Ronald Edward Maule Ramsay (1885–1909), who died unmarried. After returning from a trip to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in November 1887, the couple were forced to break off their journey in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

after Lady Dalhousie was taken ill. Despite medical attention she died of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

on 24 November, aged 30. After retiring to bed the same night, Lord Dalhousie never awoke, having apparently suffered from an apoplectic fit during the night, thus surviving his wife by less than 24 hours, dying at age 40. He owned 138,000 acres in Scotland.The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
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References

Sources

* Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalhousie, John Ramsay, 13th Earl of 1847 births 1887 deaths Earls of Dalhousie Secretaries for Scotland Knights of the Thistle Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) Lords-in-Waiting UK MPs 1880–1885 Dalhousie, E13

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool