John Patrick Douglas Balfour, 3rd Baron Kinross (25 June 1904 – 4 June 1976) 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 ...

historian and writer noted for his biography of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

and other works on

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

history.

Early life

Balfour was born in 1904 in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Patrick Balfour, 2nd Baron Kinross and Caroline Elsie Johnstone-Douglas (1879–1969). His paternal grandparents were the

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

John Balfour, 1st Baron Kinross and, his first wife, Lilias Oswald Mackenzie (a daughter of Donald Mackenzie, Lord Mackenzie). His maternal grandparents were Jane Maitland Hathorn-Stewart and Arthur Johnstone-Douglas, a member of the extended

Marquess of Queensberry Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was i ...

family. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and

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 ...

, where he was a member of the Railway Club. He then became a journalist and writer.

Career

A prominent historian, Lord Kinross was a writer noted for his biography of

and works on

history. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served with the

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and from 1944 to 1947 was First Secretary at the British Embassy at Cairo.

Personal life

In 1938, he married Angela Mary Culme-Seymour (1912–2012), daughter of George Culme-Seymour and Janet (née Orr-Ewing) and former wife of the artist John Spencer-Churchill. Having been separated by World War II when Balfour was posted to Cairo, she started a five-year relationship with Major Robert Hewer-Hewitt with whom she had two sons, Mark and Johnny. Patrick and Angela divorced in 1942.The Daily Telegraph: Angela Culme-Seymour
3 February 2012. Despite the brief marriage, Lord Kinross was homosexual; he had no issue and was succeeded by his brother David Andrew Balfour, 4th Baron Kinross. He is buried in "Lords Row" in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

, Edinburgh with all previous ancestors of the title Baron Kinross.

In popular culture

In 1974

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

wrote the poem ''For Patrick: aetat LXX'' published in his ''A Nip in the Air'', with a footnote giving Balfour's name and title.

Books

*''Society Racket. A Critical Survey of Modern Social Life'' (1933) *''The Ruthless Innocent'' (1949) Supposedly based on the character of Angela Culme-Seymour *''The Orphaned Realm: Journeys in Cyprus'' (1951) *''Within the Taurus: A Journey in Asiatic Turkey'' (1954) *''Portrait of Greece with photographs in colour by Dimitri, Max Parrish: London'' (1956) *''Europa Minor: Journeys in Coastal Turkey'' (1956) *''The Kindred Spirit; a history of gin and of the House of Booth'' (London, 1959) *''The Innocents at Home n account of the author's travels in the United States of America' (1959) *''Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation'' (London. 1964) *''Atatürk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal, Father of Modern Turkey'' (New York. 1965) *''Portrait of Egypt'' (1966) *''The Windsor Years: The Life of Edward, as Prince of Wales, King, and Duke of Windsor'' (1967) *''Between Two Seas: The Creation of the Suez Canal'' (1968) *''Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire'' (1977) *''Hagia Sophia :A History of Constantinople'' (1979) Newsweek Book Division

References

External links

National Portrait Gallery
NPG.org.uk. Accessed 30 November 2022.

ThePeerage.com. Accessed 30 November 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinross, Patrick Balfour, 3rd Baron Balfour, John Patrick Balfour, John Patrick Nobility from Edinburgh Writers from Edinburgh Clan Balfour Balfour, John Patrick 20th-century Scottish LGBTQ people Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British diplomats Balfour, John Patrick British Islamic studies scholars Burials at the Dean Cemetery LGBTQ peers People educated at Winchester College Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Scholars of Ottoman history Scottish biographers Scottish gay writers Scottish travel writers