Douglas Kinnaird
The Honourable Douglas James William Kinnaird (26 February 1788 – 12 March 1830) was an English
Early life
Kinnaird was the fifth son of George Kinnaird, 7th Lord Kinnaird and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the banker Griffin Ransom; and younger brother of Charles Kinnaird, 8th Lord Kinnaird (1780–1826). He was educated first at Eton College, and then at Göttingen, where he acquired a knowledge of German and French. He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1807. He went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in 1811.[3][4]
In 1813 Kinnaird travelled with his friend
Relationship with Byron
In 1815 Kinnaird became, with Byron,
It was at Kinnaird's request that Byron wrote the Hebrew Melodies and the Monody on the Death of the Right Hon. R. B. Sheridan, spoken at Drury Lane Theatre. Jerdan related that Samuel Taylor Coleridge, when his tragedy Remorse was under consideration by the Drury Lane authorities, was invited to read it to Kinnaird; after two acts, Kinnaird remarked that he had "listened to enough of your nonsense", and invited attention to a two-act piece of his own.[3]
In politics
At the
At the general election in March 1820 Kinnaird was included in the double return for Bishops Castle, but in the following June was declared 'not duly elected' by the select committee appointed to try the petition. He made no further attempt to enter parliament, but frequently took part in the discussions at India House. He was a member of the "Rota", a radical dinner club, to which Bickersteth, Burdett, and Hobhouse also belonged, and was famous for his "mob dinners", with thirty or forty guests.[3]
Death
Kinnaird died unmarried in Pall Mall East, London, after a long illness, on 12 March 1830, aged 42.[3]
Works
His works were:[3]
- The Merchant of Bruges, or Beggar's Bush [a comedy by John Fletcher], with considerable alterations and additions, by Douglas Kinnaird, Esq. Now performing … at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, 1815. This comedy was reprinted in several collections of plays. The first three songs in it were written by George Lamb, to whom it was dedicated, while Hobhouse was the author of the prologue and epilogue.
- Remarks on the Volume of Hydrabad Papers printed for the use of the East India Proprietors [entitled "Papers relating to the pecuniary transactions of Messrs. W. Palmer & Co. with the Government of … the Nizam"], London, 1825.
Cricketer
Kinnaird made 19 known appearances in first-class cricket matches from 1808 to 1822. He was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and he also played for Surrey and Middlesex.[6]
References
- ^ [1] Archived 9 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ "Kinnaird, Douglas (KNRT807DJ)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ Thomas Moore, Byron, vi. 103.
- ^ Arthur Haygarth, Scores & Biographies, Volume 1 (1744–1826), Lillywhite, 1862
External sources
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Kinnaird, Douglas James William". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.