Thomas David Gibson-Carmichael, 1st Baron Carmichael, (18 March 1859 – 16 January 1926), known as Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, 11th Baronet, between 1891 and 1912, was a Scottish Liberal politician and colonial administrator. He was also a keen naturalist.

Background and education

Born near

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 ...

, Scotland, Carmichael was the eldest son of Reverend Sir William Henry Gibson-Carmichael, 10th Baronet, and Eleanora Anne Anderson, daughter of David Anderson.thepeerage.com Thomas David Gibson-Carmichael, 1st and last Baron Carmichael
/ref> He was educated at the Wixenford House school of Cowley Powles, then near

Eversley Eversley is a village and civil parish in the Hart District, Hart district of Hampshire, England. The village is located around northeast of Basingstoke and around west of Yateley. The River Blackwater (River Loddon), River Blackwater, and ...

in Wixenford and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. He succeeded his father as 11th Baronet in 1891.

Political career

Carmichael was Private Secretary to George Trevelyan and

Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), known as the Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and colonial administrator in British India. He served as Governor-Ge ...

, when

Secretaries for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

. He unsuccessfully contested Peebles and Selkirk in 1892 but was successfully returned as Liberal 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 ...

in 1895, succeeding

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

. He continued to represent this constituency until the 1900 general election. During this period, Carmichael leased Malleny House and Garden. He developed the gardens, as well as organising decorative ironwork to be added to the garden.

Colonial Governor

Carmichael was appointed

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of Monarchy of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of V ...

in 1908 and served from 27 July 1908 to 19 May 1911. As governor, Carmichael permitted Victoria Premier Sir Thomas Bent who had lost a no-confidence vote on 3 December 1908 to dissolve the assembly and call for fresh elections. Thomas Bent, however, lost the elections and John Murray succeeded him as premier. A Royal Commission investigation was started in 1909 to inquire into the financial misappropriations made by Bent. In 1911 Carmichael was appointed governor of Madras and served from 3 November 1911 to 30 March 1912. He was elected President of

The Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research" (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions). It was founded by the philologist Will ...

for 1913–15.

Honours

He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in 1908, a Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1911 and a

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

in 1917. In 1912 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Carmichael, of Skirling in the County of Peebles. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee created a post

Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture The Carmichael Chair of Ancient Indian History and Culture is a history professorship in the University of Calcutta, India; its holder is known as Carmichael Professor. The post was created by Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1912 after Baron Carmichael th ...

, after his name. Carmichael College in Rangpur, Bangladesh is named after and was inaugurated by him in 1916.

Other public appointments

Carmichael was also Chairman of the Commissioners in Lunacy for Scotland from 1894 to 1897, a Trustee of the Board of Manufactures in Scotland from 1900, a Trustee of the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

from 1904 to 1908 and of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

from 1906 to 1908 and again from 1923 to 1926. Between 1920 and 1926 he served as Lord Lieutenant of Peeblesshire. In 1891 he founded the Scottish Beekeepers Association.

Freemasonry

He was a freemason. He was initiated, passed and raised within eight days of 1895 in the Dramatic and Arts Lodge No. 757. He became Worshipful Master of the Lodge in 1902 and served for two years. He was also appointed Senior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Seven years later he became Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histo ...

. When he was appointed Governor of Victoria, he resigned from Grand Master only to become almost immediately Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Victoria. Served as Provincial Grand Master of Midlothian 1904–1909.

Personal life

Lord Carmichael married the Hon. Mary Helen Elizabeth, daughter of Baron Albert Nugent, in 1886. They had no children. He died at 13 Portman Street,

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 ...

, in January 1926, aged 66, and was buried at Skirling, Biggar,

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

. The barony became extinct on his death while he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his cousin, Henry Thomas Gibson-Craig. He was a keen amateur entomologist. During his career in India, he made a large collection of insects, mainly from the Darjeeling region, which he gave to the Indian Museum before leaving India. The damselfly species, ''Drepanosticta carmichaeli'' was named after him by Laidlaw in 1915.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, 1st Baron 1859 births 1926 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh People educated at Wixenford School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Gibson-Carmichael, Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, Thomas Gibson-Carmichael, Thomas UK MPs who were granted peerages Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 111 Governors of Victoria (Australia) British governors of Bengal Lord-lieutenants of Peeblesshire Australian Freemasons Masonic grand masters Presidents of The Asiatic Society Barons created by George V