Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet of Kilkerran, (18 September 1904 – 25 October 1973) was a Scottish aristocrat, broadcaster, journalist and historian.

Life

Fergusson was born in

Dailly Dailly () is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining village. In 1849 a fire br ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

on 18 September 1904 the son of Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet of Kilkerran and his wife, Lady Alice Mary Boyle, daughter of

David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow (31 May 1833 – 13 December 1915), was a British naval commander and colonial governor. He served as Governor of New Zealand between 1892 and 1897. Background Boyle was the son of Patrick Boyle (eldest son of D ...

. His younger brother was Bernard Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae. He was sent to

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

then went to

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 ...

. Fergusson initially worked as a writer for ''

Blackwood’s Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinbu ...

'' in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. In 1934 he joined BBC Scotland as assistant to the Scottish Regional Director, Melville Dinwiddie. He also was a town councillor for

Haddington, East Lothian The Royal Burgh of Haddington (, ) is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the six ...

. 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 resisted a transfer to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and instead joined the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

, giving commentary on Nazi propaganda and making a tour of the Middle East. After the war, Fergusson became lead-writer for the ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'' (1945 to 1949). From 1947 to 1968, he also appeared on the popular long-running radio show "Round Britain Quiz" with Jack House. From 1949, he was made the official Keeper of the Records of Scotland based at Register House on

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

. He remained in the post until 1969, during which period the scale and function of the records office greatly increased. After his departure the expansion included the conversion of St George's Church, Charlotte Square to create West Register House. Upon the death of his father in February 1951 he became 8th Baronet of Kilkerran. In 1960, Fergusson was awarded an honorary doctorate (LLD) from 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 ...

. In 1968 Fergusson 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 ...

. His proposers were Neil Campbell, Lord Balerno, Edmund Hirst, and

Anthony Elliot Ritchie Anthony Elliot Ritchie FRSE FRCPE LLD (30 March 1915–14 September 1997) was a 20th-century Scottish physiologist and educator. Life Ritchie was born at 20 Upper Gray Street, Edinburgh on 30 March 1915, the only son of Jessie Jane Elliot an ...

. He was a Trustee of the

National Gallery of Scotland The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Playfa ...

, Member of the Royal Commission on Historic Manuscripts, and Trustee of the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

. He was Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire 1969–73. Fergusson died on 25 October 1973. He was buried in the family graveyard at Kilkerran.

Publications

Fergusson was an active member of the committee of the History of Parliament Project. His books include: *''Letters of George Dempster to Sir Adam Fergusson'' (1934) *''Lowland Lairds'' (1949) *''Argyll in the Forty-Five'' (1951) *''The Sixteen Peers of Scotland'' (1960) *''The White Hind'' (1963) (a study of the Appin Murder Case) *''The

Curragh Incident The Curragh incident of 20 March 1914, sometimes known as the Curragh mutiny, occurred in the Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. The Curragh Camp was then the main base for the British Army in Ireland, which at the time still formed part of the ...

'' (1964) *''The Man Behind MacBeth'' (1969) *''The Declaration of Arbroath 1320'' (1970)

Family

Fergusson married Louise Frances Balfour Stratford Dugdale (daughter of Edgar Dugdale and Blanche Dugdale) in 1930. They had two sons: Charles who became 9th Baronet of Kilkerran, and Adam Fergusson (MEP). They had two daughters: Alice, who married Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry; and Christian who died in a car crash aged 14.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fergusson, James 1904 births 1973 deaths Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford James Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 8 Nobility from South Ayrshire People from Dailly Scottish broadcasters Scottish journalists