Thomas Buchanan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Financial Secretary to the War Office | |
| In office 1905–1908 | |
| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Prime Minister | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman |
| Preceded by | William Bromley-Davenport |
| Succeeded by | Francis Dyke Acland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1846-04-02)2 April 1846 |
| Died | 7 April 1911(1911-04-07) (aged 65) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Thomas Ryburn BuchananPCFRSE (2 April 1846 – 7 April 1911) was aScottishLiberalpolitician andbibliophile.
He was born inGlasgow the son of John Buchanan ofDowanhill. His brother was the eminent chemist and explorerJohn Young Buchanan (1844–1925).[1]
He was educated atSherborne School andBalliol College, Oxford. He later became a Fellow ofAll Souls College, Oxford, and wascalled to the Bar.
In 1880 Buchanan unsuccessfully contestedHaddington in the1880 general election but was successfully returned to Parliament forEdinburgh in an 1881 by-election. This constituency was abolished in 1885 and he was elected for the newly created constituency ofEdinburgh West as aLiberal Unionist. However, in 1888 Buchanan announced that he supportedWilliam Ewart Gladstone'sHome Rule policy. He resigned his seat and was elected by a narrow majority as a Gladstonian and Home Ruler the same year.
Buchanan lost the Edinburgh West seat in 1892 but returned to theHouse of Commons in December the same year when he was elected to representAberdeenshire East in a by-election. He lost this seat in the1900 general election, and remained out of the House of Commons for the next three years. However, in February 1903 he was returned as the member forPerthshire East, a seat he held until 1910. When theLiberals came to power in December 1905, he was appointedFinancial Secretary to the War Office by Prime MinisterSir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, a post he retained until April 1908. The latter month he was sworn of thePrivy Council and madeUnder-Secretary of State for India by the new Prime Minister,H. H. Asquith. He remained in this post until June 1909.
Buchanan married Emily Octavia Bolitho, ofTrengwainton, on 15 August 1888 atMadron,Penzance,Cornwall.[2] They lived at 10 Moray Place on the prestigiousMoray Estate inEdinburgh's West End[3] and 12 South Street inMayfair. He was a noted collector of books and manuscripts. Some of his collections were donated by his widow to theUniversity of Edinburgh and theBodleian Library, Oxford, after his death. He died on 7 April 1911 inBournemouth inHampshire and was buried in the churchyard of St Bartholomew's Church atArborfield inBerkshire where his sister lived.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Edinburgh 1881–1885 With:James Cowan 1881–1882 Samuel Danks Waddy 1882–1885 | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Edinburgh West 1885–1892 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire East 1892–1900 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Perthshire East 1903–Jan. 1910 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Financial Secretary to the War Office 1905–1908 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Under-Secretary of State for India 1908–1909 | Succeeded by |
