James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn

James Edward Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn (29 February 1904 – 4 June 1979), styled Viscount Strabane until 1913 and Marquess of Hamilton between 1913 and 1953, was a British peer.[1]

The Duke of Abercorn
The Duke of Abercorn in 1960
Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone
In office
1951–1979
MonarchElizabeth II
Preceded byJames Ponsonby Galbraith
Succeeded byJohn Hamilton-Stubber
Member of the Senate of Northern Ireland
In office
22 March 1949 – 8 May 1962
Personal details
Born
James Edward Hamilton, Viscount Strabane

(1904-02-29)29 February 1904
Marylebone, London
Died4 June 1979(1979-06-04) (aged 75)
Political partyUnionist
Spouse
(m. 1928)
Children3, including James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn
Parents

Early life and education

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Abercorn was born in 1904 at 15 Montagu Square, London,[2] the son of James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, and Lady Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham.[3] He inherited his father's peerages on 12 September 1953.[3][4]

He was educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst.[5]

Career

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After Sandhurst, Lord Hamilton was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, where he rose to the rank of captain.[4] In 1946, he was elected to the County Council of County Tyrone, served as High Sheriff of Tyrone, and then served in the Senate of Northern Ireland.[4] He became Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone on his father's death, a position he held for the remainder of his life.[4] He was appointed honorary colonel of the 5th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (a Territorial Army unit), and died at age 75.[4]

He was active in public life in Northern Ireland. He was chairman of the trustees of the Ulster Museum from 1962–79 and Chancellor of the University of Ulster from 1970-79. He was president of the Royal Forestry Society from 1954-66 and also served as president of the International Dendrological Union (later the International Dendrology Society).[5]

Marriage and issue

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In 1928, Abercorn married Lady Kathleen Crichton (1905–1990), a daughter of Henry Crichton, Viscount Crichton (1872–1914, son of 4th Earl Erne and father of the 5th Earl Erne) and Lady Mary Cavendish Grosvenor (1883–1959, daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster).[3]

They had two sons and a daughter:

Ancestry

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cokayne, George Edward (2000) [1982]. Gibbs, Vicary; Doubleday, H. A.; White, Geoffrey; Warrand, Duncan; de Walden, Lord Howard (eds.). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant. Vol. I. Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing. p. 10. ISBN 0904387828. OCLC 60066829.
  2. ^ "Births". Irish Independent. 3 March 1904. p. 4. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Mosley, Charles (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (107 ed.). Wilmington: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. p. 140. ISBN 0971196621.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Abercorn". Who's Who 2022 & Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U151568. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Obituary: Duke of Abercorn". The Times. 6 June 1979. p. 16.
  6. ^ a b Montague-Smith, Patrick W., ed. (2008). "Abercorn, Duke of (Hamilton) sat as Marquess of Abercorn (GB 1790) (Duke I 1868, Bt I 1660)". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage 2008. London, UK: Debrett's Peerage Limited.
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Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone
1951–1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by Honorary Colonel of the
5th Battalion Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers

1963–1967
Battalion disbanded
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Duke of Abercorn
1953–1979
Succeeded by