Sir William Gibson Craig, 2nd Baronet, PC,

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". ...

(2 August 1797 – 12 March 1878), 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 ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

and politician, who held the important position of

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clàr Morair Clèireach'') is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenanc ...

for Scotland.

Life

He was born the first son of Sir James Gibson-Craig, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Anne Thomson. He was educated at the High School 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 ...

and then privately in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. William became an

in 1820. He became a member of the Highland Society in 1824. In 1828 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 proposer being Thomas Allan. He was the Member of Parliament for

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

representing the Whig party from 1837 to 1841 and for

from 1841 to 1852. He was a

Junior Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a Government agency, commission for the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer, Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the ...

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

's government from 1846 to 1852. He was

and

Keeper of the Signet The office of Lord Clerk Register (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clàr Morair Clèireach'') is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenanc ...

from 1862 until his death. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1863. He lived in

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scot ...

House to the south-west of

. This huge Gothic mansion was demolished in the 20th century and now serves as the Riccarton Campus serving

Heriot Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by royal ...

.Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam

Family

His younger brother,

James Thomson Gibson-Craig James Thomson Gibson-Craig (12 March 1799 – 18 July 1886) was a Scottish book collector and writer to the Signet. Early life, education, and career Gibson-Craig was born on 12 March 1799 as the second son of James Gibson (1765–1850), and ...

WS (1799–1886) was also a Fellow of the

. He was married to Betsy Vivian. They had six children. One of his grandchildren was the

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Dorothy Brooke Dorothy Evelyn Brooke (; 1 June 1883 – 10 June 1955) was the founder of The Old War Horse Memorial Hospital in 1934 in Cairo – renamed The Brooke Hospital for Animals in 1961. Developing from a single operation in Cairo into one of the world ...

Publications

*''On Howard's Wheel Plough''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson Craig, William 1797 births 1878 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies 2

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 19th-century Scottish people Scottish knights Paintings by Henry Raeburn