James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline
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James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline (created 1839), (7 November 1776 – 17 April 1858), was a barrister and Member of Parliament, and auditor to the Duke of Devonshire's estates.[1]
James was the third son of General Sir Ralph Abercromby of Tullibody, who fell at the battle of Alexandria, 28 March 1801, by a daughter of John Menzies of Fernton, Perthshire. She was created Baroness Abercromby.
James Abercromby attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh and was called to the English Bar in 1800. In 1827 he was appointed Judge-Advocate-General, and sworn a member of the Privy Council.
He served as the Whig MP for Midhurst 1807–1812, and for Calne 1812–1832. After the Reform Act 1832 he sat for Edinburgh, Scotland until 1839.
Prior to his elevation to the peerage he was appointed, in 1830, Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, Master of the Mint (1834) in the administration of Lord Grey, and was elected Speaker of the British House of Commons on 19 February 1835 where he sat until moving to The House of Lords.[2]
In 1841 Lord Dunfermline was elected as Dean of Faculty in the University of Glasgow.
He married, 14 June 1802, Mary Anne, daughter of Egerton Leigh, Esq., of West Hall, in High Legh. Their son Ralph, KCB (b.1803), was sometime Secretary of Legation at Berlin, and minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary to Sardinia (1840-1851), and thereafter The Hague.
[edit] References
- ^ Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-18022-2, page 4
- ^ Anderson, John (1856). A History of Edinburgh from the Earliest Period to the Completion of the Half Century 1850: With Brief Notices of Eminent Or Remarkable Individuals. A. Fullarton & co. p. 444. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FxLjodeZ_9kC. Retrieved on 2008-10-21.
- Burke, John, History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, vol.iii, London, 1838, p.1 - 2.
- Anderson, William, The Scottish Nation, Edinburgh, 1867, vol.iv, p.105.
[edit] External links
- Archival material relating to James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline listed at the UK National Register of Archives
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Watkin Williams-Wynn William Plunket |
Member of Parliament for Midhurst with Samuel Smith 1807 Thomas Thompson 1807–1812 1807–1812 |
Succeeded by Thomas Thompson George Smith |
| Preceded by Joseph Jekyll Henry Smith |
Member of Parliament for Calne with Joseph Jekyll 1812–1816 Sir James Macdonald 1816–1830 1812–1830 |
Succeeded by Sir James Macdonald Thomas Babington Macaulay |
| Preceded by Robert Adam Dundas |
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh with Francis Jeffrey 1832–1834 Sir John Campbell 1834–1839 1832–1839 |
Succeeded by Sir John Campbell Thomas Babington Macaulay |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Auckland |
Master of the Mint 1834–1835 |
Succeeded by Alexander Baring |
| Preceded by Charles Manners-Sutton |
Speaker of the House of Commons 1835–1839 |
Succeeded by Charles Shaw-Lefevre |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Dunfermline 1839–1858 |
Succeeded by Ralph Abercromby |
