James Abercromby, 1st Baron Dunfermline FRSE PC (7 November 1776 – 17 April 1858), was a British barrister and Whig politician. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons between 1835 and 1839, the first Scottish MP to hold that position.
The Lord Dunfermline | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 19 February 1835 – 27 May 1839 | |
| Monarchs | William IV Victoria |
| Prime Minister | Robert Peel William Lamb |
| Preceded by | Charles Manners-Sutton |
| Succeeded by | Charles Shaw-Lefevre |
| Judge Advocate General | |
| In office 12 May 1827 – 21 January 1828 | |
| Monarch | George IV |
| Prime Minister | George Canning The Viscount Goderich |
| Preceded by | Sir John Beckett, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Beckett, Bt |
| Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland | |
| In office 1830–1832 | |
| Monarch | William IV |
| Preceded by | Sir Samuel Shepherd |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Master of the Mint | |
| In office 13 June 1834 – 14 November 1834 | |
| Monarch | William IV |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Melbourne |
| Preceded by | The Lord Auckland |
| Succeeded by | Alexander Baring |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 November 1776 |
| Died | 17 April 1858 (aged 81) Colinton House, Midlothian |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Anne Leigh (d. 1874) |
Background and education
editAbercromby was the third son of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who fell at the Battle of Alexandria, and Mary, 1st Baroness Abercromby, daughter of John Menzies of Fernton, Perthshire. He was the younger brother of George Abercromby, 2nd Baron Abercromby and Sir John Abercromby and the elder brother of Alexander Abercromby.[citation needed] He attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh, and was called to the English Bar, Lincoln's Inn, in 1801. He became a commissioner of bankruptcy and later appointed steward of the Duke of Devonshire's estates.[1][2]
Legal and political career
editAbercromby sat as Whig Member of Parliament for Midhurst between 1807 and 1812[3] and for Calne between 1812 and 1830.[4] He brought forwards two motions for bills to change the representation for Edinburgh in parliament. He received great support but no change was made until the Reform Act 1832.[1] In 1827 he was sworn of the Privy Council[5] and appointed Judge-Advocate-General by George Canning,[6] a post he held until 1828, the last months under the premiership of Lord Goderich.
In 1830 Abercromby was made Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland, a position he retained until 1832, when the office was abolished. He received a pension of £2,000 a year.[1]
In 1831 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being John Hope, Lord Hope.[7]
In 1832 returned to the House of Commons as one of two members for Edinburgh, whose representation had now been increased from one to two members.[8] In July 1834 he entered Lord Melbourne's cabinet as Master of the Mint,[9] but only held the post until November of the same year, when the Whigs lost power.
Abercromby was considered for the speakership of the House of Commons by his party for the 1833 election, but Edward Littleton was eventually chosen instead (he was defeated by Charles Manners-Sutton). However, in the 1835 election he was chosen as the Whig candidate. Due to an evenly balanced House of Commons the election rendered great interest and was fiercely contested. On 19 February 1835 Abercromby was elected, defeating Manners-Sutton by 316 votes to 306. The Dictionary of National Biography writes that "As speaker Abercromby acted with great impartiality while he possessed sufficient decision to quell any serious tendency to disorder." During his tenure a number of reforms for the introduction of private bills were made.[1] In spite of failing health Abercromby continued as speaker until 1839.[1] On his retirement he was raised to the peerage as Baron Dunfermline, of Dunfermline in the County of Fife.[10][11]
After his retirement Abercromby continued to take an interest in public affairs, specifically those involving the city of Edinburgh. He was one of the originators of the United Industrial School for the support and training of destitute children.[1] In 1841 he was elected as Dean of Faculty at the University of Glasgow.[12] He also wrote a biography of his father, published posthumously in 1861.[1]
He died at Colinton House, just south-west of Edinburgh on 17 April 1858.[7]
Family
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Lord Dunfermline married Mary Anne, daughter of Egerton Leigh, of West Hall, in High Legh, on 14 June 1802. He bought property and land in Colinton, Midlothian in 1840.
He died at Colinton House, on the south-west edge of Edinburgh in April 1858, aged 81, and was buried at Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. He was succeeded in the barony by his son, Sir Ralph Abercromby, KCB, who was Secretary of Legation at Berlin and served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Sardinia between 1840 and 1851 and to The Hague between 1851 and 1858. Lady Dunfermline died in August 1874.[citation needed]
He was the nephew of Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet.[13]
A portrait of James Abercromby as a child by David Allan (1779) is held by the University of Dundee Museum Services[14]
Arms
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References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 0-550-18022-2, page 4
- ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Mayo to Minehead". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Caernarfon to Cambridgeshire South West". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors 1679–1835[usurped]
- ^ "No. 18362". The London Gazette. 18 May 1827. p. 1081.
- ^ a b Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002
- ^ "leighrayment.com House of Commons: Ealing to Elgin". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "No. 19164". The London Gazette. 13 June 1834. p. 1108.
- ^ "No. 19737". The London Gazette. 28 May 1839. p. 1072.
- ^ 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. ISBN 978-1-85285-581-9. Retrieved 21 October 2008.
- ^ "Biography of James Abercromby 1st Baron Dunfermline". www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ C D Waterston; A Macmillan Shearer (July 2006). Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783–2002: Part 1 (A–J) (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 090219884X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "James Abercromby of Tullibody, Esq. (1776–1858) | Art UK". artuk.org. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- Burke, John, History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, vol.iii, London, 1838, pp. 1–2.
- Anderson, William, The Scottish Nation, Edinburgh, 1867, vol.iv, p. 105.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 678.
