Thomas Dundas, 2nd Earl of Zetland (5 February 1795 – 6 May 1873), was a British

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and politician. Born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, eldest son of the 1st Earl and his wife Harriet Hale, he was educated at Harrow and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. In 1818 he was elected Whig Member of Parliament for his father and grandfather's old seat of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, becoming representative for

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

twelve years later. In 1835 he returned to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as member for Richmond, and four years later succeeded his father as second Earl of Zetland. Like his father a prominent

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, Lord Zetland was the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

's Grand Master from 1844 to 1870. Zetland was a senior member of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

and won The Derby and

St Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

with his horse

Voltigeur The Voltigeurs were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon I. They replaced the second company of fusiliers in each existing infantry battalion. The voltigeurs moniker later saw use with other militaries. Etymolog ...

in 1850. In the year of his succession to the

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

, he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

and '' Custos Rotulorum'' of the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, and in 1861 became a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

. He resigned the Order on being made a Knight Companion of the Garter in 1872, and died the following year at Aske Hall,

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 ...

. He married, on 6 September 1823, Sophia Jane, daughter of Sir Hedworth Williamson, Bt.

References

* Lodge, Edmund,

Norroy King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the provincial King of Arms at the College of Arms with jurisdiction over England north of the River Trent, Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of ...

, ''The Peerage of the British Empire'', London, 1858, p. 607. * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zetland, Thomas Dundas, 2nd Earl of 1795 births 1873 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British racehorse owners and breeders Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights of the Garter Knights of the Thistle Lord-lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire Dundas, Thomas People from Marylebone Politicians from the City of Westminster Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Thomas Dundas, Lord Zetland, E2 Grand masters of the United Grand Lodge of England Owners of Epsom Derby winners People educated at Harrow School