Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton

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PC FRS FSA
10th Duke of Hamilton
The 10th Duke of Hamilton, by Henry Raeburn
Tenure1819–1852
PredecessorArchibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton
SuccessorWilliam Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton
Other titles7th Duke of Brandon
Born(1767-10-03)3 October 1767
St. James Square, London, England
Died18 August 1852(1852-08-18) (aged 84)
12 Portman Square, London, England
BuriedBent Cemetery, Hamilton
OfficesLord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire
Spouse(s)Susan Euphemia Beckford
IssueWilliam Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton
Lady Susan de Beeck
ParentsArchibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton
Lady Harriet Stewart

Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, 7th Duke of Brandon

PC FRS FSA (3 October 1767 – 18 August 1852) was a Scottish politician and art collector.[1]

Life

Born on 3 October 1767 at

MA on 18 February 1789.[2]

Hamilton was a Whig, and his political career began in 1802, when he became

Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland between 1827 and 1831. He held the office of Trustee of the British Museum
between 1834 and 1852.

Alexander Hamilton at age 15, in a painting by Joshua Reynolds.

He married

William Thomas Beckford[3] and Lady Margaret Gordon, daughter of Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne
, on 26 April 1810 in London, England.

Hamilton was a well-known dandy of his day. An obituary notice states that "timidity and variableness of temperament prevented his rendering much service to, or being much relied on by his party ... With a great predisposition to over-estimate the importance of ancient birth ... he well deserved to be considered the proudest man in England." He also supported Napoleon and commissioned the painting

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries
by Jacques-Louis David.

Lord Lamington, in The Days of the Dandies, wrote of him that 'never was such a magnifico as the 10th Duke, the Ambassador to the Empress Catherine; when I knew him he was very old, but held himself straight as any grenadier. He was always dressed in a military laced undress coat, tights and Hessian boots, &c'. Lady Stafford in letters to her son mentioned 'his great Coat, long Queue, and Fingers cover'd with gold Rings', and his foreign appearance. According to another obituary, this time in Gentleman's Magazine, he had 'an intense family pride'.

Death and legacy

Kelvingrove Museum. In 1842 Hamilton had begun construction of the Hamilton Mausoleum as repository for the overcrowded family vault at the Palace. He was interred there with other Dukes of Hamilton, from the 1858 completion of the Mausoleum until 1921 when subsidence and the subsequent demolition of the Palace forced removal of the bodies to the Bent cemetery in Hamilton, where he still lies buried in his sarcophagus.[4][5]

His collection of paintings, objects, books and manuscripts was sold for £397,562 in July 1882. The manuscripts were purchased by the German government for £80,000. Some were repurchased by the British government and are now in the British Museum.

Marriage and issue

By his wife, Susan Beckford, Hamilton had one son and one daughter:

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ "Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland and one of the greatest collectors in the history of Scotland". National Museums Scotland. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  2. Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource
    .
  3. ^ NTS plans £8m overhaul of Brodick castle
  4. ^ RCAHMS reconstruction of Hamilton Palace
  5. ^ Gazetteer for Scotland- Bent cemetery

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Lancaster
1802–1806
With: John Dent 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
British Ambassador to Russia

1807 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire
1802–1852 		Succeeded by
Masonic offices
Preceded by
The Prince of Wales (
George IV
)
Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland

1820–1822 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Duke of Hamilton
1819–1852 		Succeeded by
William Hamilton
Peerage of Great Britain
Preceded by
Duke of Brandon

1819–1852 		Succeeded by
writ in acceleration
)
1806–1852
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