James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose
The 5th Duke of Montrose | |
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| Succeeded by | The 7th Duke of Montrose |
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| Born | James Graham 1 May 1878 VD |
CVO VD (1 May 1878 – 20 January 1954) was a Scottish nobleman, naval officer, politician and engineer. He took the first film of a solar eclipse and is credited as the inventor of the aircraft carrier
.
Personal life
The eldest son of
Jean Graham.[1]
Career
As a mariner, he served in the Mercantile Marine and ASC in South Africa, during which time he obtained the first film ever taken of a total
Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in 1903, he served in the Auxiliary Naval Service during World War I and was later Commodore of the RNVR Clyde Division, then the East Coast of Scotland RNVR. On 12 October 1921,[2] he was promoted Commodore 2nd Class and appointed Commodore of the entire RNVR, serving in this role until his retirement in 1927.[3] As a result, from 1946 to 1968, whichever ship was attached to the Tay Division of the Royal Naval Reserve (in Dundee) was always temporarily renamed HMS Montrose after the 6th Duke.[4] In 1992, the seventh Duke-class frigate Montrose
was so-named for the same reason.
In his political life, he was unpaid assistant private secretary to the
Scotland's Irish community While he stated that he had "nothing but friendly feelings for the Irish", he added that when Ireland achieved Home Rule, "Scottish men and women were disenfranchised" and stated "as they did to us we should do to them and others."[7]
As an engineer, he was the inventor of the world's first naval
the Lloyd Sabaudo Line of Italy as the SS Conte Rosso. When war broke out in 1914, work on the vessel ceased, but was resumed in 1916 as an aircraft carrier. The conversion work was completed in September 1918, and the vessel was commissioned as HMS Argus – recognised as the first ever "flat top".[8]
The Duke was also designer and owner of the first seagoing heavy oil motorship.
He was president of the British Institution of Marine Engineers in 1911, and president of the Junior Institution of Engineers in 1916 and 1917. Afterwards, he was vice-president of the
Sea Cadets in Scotland. In 1935 he became the second president on the National Institute for the Deaf, a post he held until his death.[9]
Honours
He was
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1942 and 1943. He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1905, a Companion of the Bath in 1911 and a Knight of the Thistle in 1947.[1] He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Glasgow in 1931, at which time he was described by the University as being a "great and distinguished Scotsman".[10]
Death
The Duke was staying at Turnberry Hotel in January 1954 when he suffered what was described as a slight stroke. However, his condition quickly worsened and he died at Drymen on 20 January, about a week after the onset of his illness.[10]
Publications
- My Ditty Box, The Duke of Montrose. Jonathan Cape, London, 1952
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72367. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "No. 32494". The London Gazette. 21 October 1921. p. 8292.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7126-6724-1.
- ^ "History of Tay Division RNR". frigateunicorn.org. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-8515-8588-5.
- ^ Dinwoodie, Robbie (7 April 2014). "From radicals and Tartan Tories to the party of government". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ "The Irish in Scotland. Attitude of the Home Rule Party. Duke of Montrose's Kilmarnock Declaration". The Glasgow Herald. 26 October 1933. p. 9. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Aircraft-Carrier Pioneer". Flight and Aircraft Engineer. 65 (2349): 114. 29 January 1954. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ "The President passes". Silent World. 8 (9): 272–275. 1954.
- ^ Glasgow Herald. 21 January 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
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