Sir John Hay Athole Macdonald, Lord Kingsburgh,KCB,PC,PRSSA,FRS,FRSE (27 December 1836 – 9 May 1919) was aScottishConservative Party[1] politician and later a judge.
Macdonald was born on 28 December 1836 at 29 Great King Street inEdinburgh's New Town, the son of Grace Hay and Matthew Norman MacDonald (later MacDonald-Hume) of Ninewells, an affluent Edinburgh lawyer. He was privately educated atEdinburgh Academy. He studied law at theUniversity of Edinburgh and theUniversity of Basle inSwitzerland.[2]
He was called to theScottish bar in 1859. On 30 July 1875 he was appointed byQueen Victoria to beSheriff of the Shires of Ross, Cromarty, and Sutherland.[3] He was appointedSolicitor General for Scotland from 1876 to 1880. He was appointed asSheriff of Perthshire in 1880, and served asDean of the Faculty of Advocates from 1882 to 1885.[4] The University of Edinburgh gave him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in 1884. In 1886 he was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers wereJohn MacLaren, Lord MacLaren,Sir William Turner,Peter Guthrie Tait and Alexander Buchan.[2]
Although failing to be elected in an1879 by-election, he became aMember of Parliament (MP) at the1885 general election forEdinburgh and St Andrews Universities,[1] he served asLord Advocate from 1885 to 1886 and from 1886 to 1888. He became aQueen's Counsel in 1880, and was appointed aPrivy Counsellor in 1885. He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) byQueen Victoria in 1900.
He was commissioned as aLieutenant-Colonel in the1st Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Volunteer Brigade in 1864, and was its Lt-Col Commandant from 1882 to 1892. He was one of the leading advocates of drill reform in theVolunteer movement, author ofOn the Best Detail Formation for the New Infantry Tactics (1873) andCommonsense on Parade or Drill without Strings (1886). In 1885 he organised a spectacular night assembly of the brigade, which resulted in 500 new recruits. He was later appointed as the brigade'sHonorary Colonel, remaining in that role with the5th (Queen's Edinburgh Rifles) Battalion, Royal Scots, when theTerritorial Force was formed in 1908.[5][6][7][8][9]
He gave up his Parliamentary seat and was appointedLord Justice Clerk in 1888,[1] taking the titleLord Kingsburgh, and presided over the Second Division of theCourt of Session until 1915. He was promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant in theRoyal Company of Archers on 18 June 1915.[10]
In 1875 he became one of the founding members of the ruling council of theCockburn Association, Edinburgh's influential conservationist organisation, becoming the body's vice-president in 1887 and then its president in 1914, relinquishing the latter office in 1918.[11]
In the1916 Birthday Honours KingGeorge V created him a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB).[12]
He was an enthusiastic car owner and was a founding member of theAutomobile Club and was the first president of the Scottish Automobile Club. He also registered Edinburgh's first evernumber plate.[13]
He died at home, 15 Abercromby Place, a short distance from his birthplace, on 9 May 1919. He is buried inSt Cuthbert's Churchyard at the west end ofPrinces Street.[2]
In 1864 he married Adelaide Jeanette Doran. She died in 1870.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities 1885–1888 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Solicitor General for Scotland 1876–1880 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Lord Advocate 1885–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Lord Advocate 1886–1888 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Lord Justice Clerk 1888–1915 | Succeeded by |
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