James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, KT, PRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish astronomer and

representative peer In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right t ...

who was president of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death. He also became president of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

(24 March 1764), and was a distinguished patron of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

, and particularly of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

. He was born in Edinburgh as the son of

George Douglas, 13th Earl of Morton George Douglas, 13th Earl of Morton (1662 – 4 January 1738), of St Ola, Orkney, styled The Honourable George Douglas between 1681 and 1730, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 until he succ ...

and his second wife Frances Adderley. He graduated MA from

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, in 1722.Anita Guerrini
'Douglas, James, fourteenth earl of Morton (1702–1768)'
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2008. So also the original ''DNB'' In 1746 he visited

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and was imprisoned in the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

, probably as a Jacobite. He had a long lasting tendency to protest the actions of the British government.

Family

He was twice married: firstly to Agatha, daughter of James Halyburton of Pitcur, Forfarshire, by whom he was the father of three sons, two of whom died young, and three daughters. The second son,

Sholto Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton Sholto Charles Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton (c. 1732–25 September 1774) was the son of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton. He was Colonel of a regiment of light dragoons, the 17th Regiment of Light Dragoons, raised in Scotland in 1759 and d ...

, succeeded him. Secondly, on 31 July 1755, at St James's Church, Piccadilly, he married Bridget, daughter of Sir John Heathcote, Bt., of Normanton, who bore him a son, John (b. 4 July 1756), and a daughter, Bridget (b. 3 May 1758). His wife, Bridget, outlived him by thirty-seven years.

Legacy

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, was named after Lord Morton by Lieutenant

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

(the spelling being an error in the published account of Cook's voyage in ). Lord Morton had been influential in obtaining a grant of £4,000 to finance the voyage. Cook had been instructed by the earl to regard the native populations of the places he might visit as "human creatures, the work of the same omnipotent Author, equally under his care with the most polished European ... No European nation has the right to occupy any part of their country ... without their voluntary consent“.

In popular media

Actor Brian Cox was cast as Lord Morton in the TV series, ''

Longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek let ...

'' in 2000.

References

1702 births 1768 deaths Earls of Morton Knights of the Thistle Presidents of the Royal Society Scottish representative peers Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Members of the French Academy of Sciences Scottish astronomers Scottish Jacobites Grand Masters of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England Prisoners of the Bastille {{Scotland-earl-stub