Sir Patrick Murray of Ochtertyre, 6th Baronet

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(3 February 1771 – 1 June 1837) was a Scottish advocate, landowner and politician, serving as MP for

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 ...

from 1806 to 1812 and

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

in 1820. He is sometimes referred to as Sir Peter Murray.

Life

Ochtertyre across Loch Monzievaird - geograph

He was born at Ochtertyre House on 3 February 1771 the eldest son of Lady Augusta Mackenzie, daughter of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, and her husband William Murray of Ochtertyre. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

then studied law at 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 ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He became an advocate in 1793. In 1796 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 ...

. His proposers were Rev James Finlayson, James Gregory, and

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

. In 1799 he was appointed King's remembrancer in the exchequer for life. In 1800, on the death of his father, he became 6th Baronet of Ochtertyre. He became Member of Parliament for

in 1806 on the recommendation of Lord Melville but resigned in 1812 before the end of the parliament. His most important role was that of

Secretary to the Board of Control The Secretary to the Board of Control was a British government office in the late 18th and early 19th century, supporting the President of the Board of Control, who was responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally servin ...

from 1810 to 1812, which involved serving as the chief official in London responsible for Indian affairs. He was a Baron of the Scottish Exchequer from 1820 to his death. He died on 1 June 1837.

Military service

A keen soldier, Murray was Captain of the Edinburgh Volunteers from 1797 to 1803, also being Captain of the

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

Brigade in 1800. In 1803 he became Lt-Colonel Commander of the Strathearn Volunteers and in 1808 Lt-Colonel of the Perthshire Militia.

Family

In December 1794 he married Lady Mary Ann Hope (died 1838), daughter of

John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun (7 September 1704 – 12 February 1781) was a Scottish people, Scottish aristocrat. Early life Hope was born on 7 September 1704. He was the son of Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun and Lady Henrietta Johnstone. ...

by his third wife. They had eight children including William Keith Murray and Henry Dundas Murray. His son, Patrick Murray (1812-1889), was an advocate. His brother was Lt-General Sir George Murray.

Artistic recognition

His engraved portrait by Thomas Goff Lupton is held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

. It is based on an original oil portrait by Sir John Watson Gordon.https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/35894/sir-patrick-murray-ochtertyre-1771-1837?artists 523125231&search_set_offset=9

References

1771 births 1837 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish landowners 19th-century Scottish landowners Scottish politicians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia {{Scotland-UK-MP-stub