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 |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 1806–1834 | |
| Constituency | Midhurst (1807–1812) Calne (1812–1830) Edinburgh (1832–1834) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1776-11-07)7 November 1776 |
| Died | 17 April 1858(1858-04-17) (aged 81) Colinton House,Midlothian |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Anne Leigh (d. 1874) |
James Abercromby, 1st Baron DunfermlineFRSEPC (7 November 1776 – 17 April 1858), was a Britishbarrister andWhig politician. He served asSpeaker of the House of Commons between 1835 and 1839, the first Scottish MP to hold that position.
Abercromby was the third son of GeneralSir Ralph Abercromby, who fell at theBattle of Alexandria, andMary, 1st Baroness Abercromby, daughter of John Menzies of Fernton,Perthshire. He was the younger brother ofGeorge Abercromby, 2nd Baron Abercromby andSir John Abercromby and the elder brother ofAlexander Abercromby.[citation needed] He attended theRoyal High School, Edinburgh, and wascalled to the English Bar,Lincoln's Inn, in 1801. He became acommissioner of bankruptcy and later appointed steward of theDuke of Devonshire's estates.[1][2]
Abercromby sat asWhig Member of Parliament forMidhurst between 1807 and 1812[3] and forCalne between 1812 and 1830.[4] He brought forwards two motions for bills to change the representation forEdinburgh in parliament. He received great support but no change was made until theReform Act 1832.[1] In 1827 he was sworn of thePrivy Council[5] and appointedJudge-Advocate-General byGeorge Canning,[6] a post he held until 1828, the last months under the premiership ofLord Goderich.
In 1830 Abercromby was madeLord 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 theRoyal Society of Edinburgh his proposer beingJohn Hope, Lord Hope.[7]
In 1832 returned to theHouse of Commons as one of two members forEdinburgh, whose representation had now been increased from one to two members.[8] In July 1834 he enteredLord Melbourne's cabinet asMaster of the Mint,[9] but only held the post until November of the same year, when the Whigs lost power.
Abercromby was considered for thespeakership of the House of Commons by his party for the1833 election, butEdward Littleton was eventually chosen instead (he was defeated byCharles Manners-Sutton). However, in the1835 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. TheDictionary 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 asBaron 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 ofEdinburgh. 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 theUniversity of Glasgow.[12] He also wrote a biography of his father, published posthumously in 1861.[1]
He died atColinton House, just south-west of Edinburgh on 17 April 1858.[7]
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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 atColinton House, on the south-west edge of Edinburgh in April 1858, aged 81, and was buried atGrange Cemetery, Edinburgh. He was succeeded in the barony by his son,Sir Ralph Abercromby,KCB, who was Secretary of Legation atBerlin and served asEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary toSardinia between 1840 and 1851 and toThe Hague between 1851 and 1858. Lady Dunfermline died in August 1874.[citation needed]
He was the nephew ofRobert Bruce, Lord Kennet.[13]
A portrait of James Abercromby as a child by David Allan (1779) is held by theUniversity of Dundee Museum Services[14]
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forMidhurst 1807–1812 With:Samuel Smith 1807 Thomas Thompson 1807–12 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCalne 1812–1830 With:Joseph Jekyll 1812–16 Sir James Macdonald, Bt 1816–30 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEdinburgh 1832–1839 With:Francis Jeffrey 1832–34 Sir John Campbell 1834–39 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Judge-Advocate-General 1827–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in Scotland 1830–1832 | Office abolished |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Master of the Mint 1834–1835 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom 1835–1839 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Dunfermline 1839–1858 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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