The Hon. William Kerr (died 17 January 1741) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer and

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 ...

politician who sat in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1710 and 1727. Kerr was born before 1682, the third son of

Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe PC (6 May 1682) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Ker was the eldest son of four sons born to William Ker, 2nd Earl of Roxburghe and the Honourable Jane Ker, who were first cousins. Among his younger brot ...

, and his wife Lady Margaret Hay, daughter of

John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale John Hay, 1st Marquess of Tweeddale (13 August 1625 – 11 August 1697) was a Scottish peer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Early life Hay was born in 1626. He was the eldest son of John Hay, 1st Earl of Tweeddale (cre ...

. In 1704 and 1705, he travelled abroad in Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Austria. He served with reputation on the Continent under

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was a Briti ...

. In 1709, he was rewarded with the command of a regiment of dragoons (The Queen's Own Regiment of Dragoons, later the

7th Hussars The 7th Queen's Own Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first formed in 1689. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in ...

). He highly distinguished himself at the

Battle of Sheriffmuir The Battle of Sheriffmuir (, ) was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rising of 1715, Jacobite rising in Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Histor ...

on 13 November 1715, where, according to contemporary accounts, he had three horses killed under him, was wounded in the thigh, and had his coat torn by a pistol bullet. The care and attention which he paid to the interests of his corps procured him the affection and esteem of the officers and soldiers. Kerr stood unsuccessfully for

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

at the 1708 general election. At the 1710 general election, he was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. He did not stand at the 1713 general election. On the accession of King George I he came to favour and was appointed

groom of the bedchamber Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Royal Household, Household of the monarch in early modern Kingdom of England, England. Other ''Ancien Régime'' royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In King ...

to the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. At the 1715 general election, he was elected as Whig MP for Dysart Burghs on the interest of Lord Rothes and voted consistently with the Administration. He was ordered to Scotland to counter the Jacobite rebellion in September 1715 as colonel of his reformed regiment, renamed the Princess of Wales's Own Regiment of Dragoons. At the 1722 general election he was elected in the poll for

Aberdeen Burghs Aberdeen Burghs was a district of burghs constituency which was represented from 1708 to 1800 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, and from 1801 to 1832 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Cr ...

, but was unseated on petition on 25 October 1722. He was returned as MP for Berwick at a by-election on 7 May 1723. He was appointed

Governor of Blackness Castle The Governor of Blackness Castle was a military officer who commanded the fortifications at Blackness Castle, a Scottish fortress on the Firth of Forth. Held by the Crown since 1453, Blackness saw military use until 1912 and a brief revival during ...

in 1723 and held the post for the rest of his life. He did not stand at the 1727 general election.J. M. Simpson
KERR, Hon. William (bef. 1682-1741).
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1715-1754'' (1970). Kerr's military career prospered and he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1727, to that of major-general in 1735, and to that of

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in 1739. Kerr died unmarried on 17 January 1741. At the time of his death he had commanded his

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

nearly thirty-two years. He was the brother of

John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe, KG, PC, FRS (30 April 1680 – 27 February 1741) was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Ker was born on 30 April 1680. He was the second son of Robert Ker, 3rd Earl of Roxburghe, and Margaret Hay, daughter of ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, William 17th-century births 1741 deaths Younger sons of earls British Army lieutenant generals 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers British army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession English military personnel of the Nine Years' War People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727