Ralph Abercromby, 2nd Baron Dunfermline (6 April 1803 – 2 July 1868) was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat, styled The Honourable from 1839 to 1858.

Life

Ralph Abercromby was the son and heir of James Abercromby, a barrister and Whig politician, and Lady Mary Anne (Marianne) Leigh. Abercromby was educated at Eton and

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

. He entered 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 ...

, becoming an

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 ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in 1821 and a

précis Précis () or precis may refer to: *an abridgement or summary ** Critical précis, a type of written text ** IRAC case brief, in law * ''Précis'' (album), a 2006 music album * ''Precis'' (butterfly), a genus of butterflies * Mitsubishi Precis, a ...

writer in 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 1827. He was Secretary of Legation at Berlin from 1831 to 1835, and Minister at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

from 1835 to 1838. On 18 September 1838 he married Lady Mary Elizabeth Gilberta Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, daughter of the Earl of Minto. From 1838 to 1840 he was Minister to the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

, from 1840 to 1851 Minister at

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, and from 1851 to 1858 Minister at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. In 1851 he was awarded a Knight Commander of the Bath ( KCB). Upon his father's death in 1858 he succeeded to the Barony, as 2nd Baron Dunfermline, and lived at the family home Colinton House, Midlothian (now in Edinburgh). In 1863 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, upon the nomination of Sir John M'Neill.Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002 He died without a male heir in 1868, and the Barony became extinct.

References

External links

* 1803 births 1868 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Diplomats from Edinburgh People educated at Eton College Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Barons Dunfermline Diplomatic peers 19th-century Scottish nobility Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

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