Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas FRS (16 February 1741 – 14 June 1820), known as Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet from 1781 to 1794, was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1763 to 1794, after which he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

as Baron Dundas. He was responsible for commissioning the ''

Charlotte Dundas ''Charlotte Dundas'' is regarded as the world's second successful steamboat, the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships.Fry, p. 27. Early experiments Development of experimental steam engi ...

'', the world's "first practical

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

Biography

Marske Cheshire Home 1 by Francis Hannaway

Dundas was the only son of

Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet (c. 1710 – 21 September 1781) was a Scottish businessman, landowner and politician. Life He was the son of Thomas Dundas and Bethia Baillie. He made his first fortune as Commissary General: supplying goods to ...

, the "Nabob of the North". Following education at Eton and

St. Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

he did the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

, then became Member of Parliament for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

, 1763–1768, then for

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling. It borders Perth ...

, 1768–1794. He was elevated to the

as Baron Dundas of Aske in August 1794, and was also

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

and Vice Admiral of Orkney and Shetland, Councillor of state to the Prince of Wales (later

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

), President of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries and Colonel of the North York Militia. He acquired Marske Hall in North Yorkshire in 1762 after the death of Sir William Lowther, 3rd Baronet. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet in 1781, inheriting Aske Hall, also in North Yorkshire.

''Charlotte Dundas''

Dundas followed his father in having an interest in

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkir ...

and in the

Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allowe ...

, under construction from 1768 to 1790, and he would have been aware of the 1789 trials on the canal of

Patrick Miller of Dalswinton Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, just north of Dumfries (1731–1815) was a Scottish banker, shareholder in the Carron Company engineering works and inventor. Miller is buried in a tomb against the southern wall of Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh. ...

double-hull A double hull is a ship Hull (watercraft), hull design and construction method where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull ...

ed paddle boat powered with a steam engine fitted by William Symington. In 1800 Dundas, as Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, engaged Symington to design a steam tug on the lines of a failed attempt by Captain John Schank for the

Bridgewater Canal The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was opened in 1761 from Wo ...

. At a meeting of the canal company's directors on 5 June 1800 Dundas "produced a model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a steam engine by Mr Symington", and it was agreed this should be immediately put in hand. The boat was built to Symington's design. It had successful trials on the River Carron in June 1801 and further trials towing

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

s from the

river Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of t ...

up the Carron and thence along the

. The other proprietors of the canal were concerned about wave damage to the canal banks, and the Committee decided that the boat would "by no means answer the purpose". Symington had proposals for an improved boat which were presented in the form of a model, shown to Lord Dundas, of the boat which would become famous as the ''

'', named in honour of one of his Lordship's daughters. One account states that Lord Dundas had advised Symington to prepare the model and bring it to his Lordship in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where Symington was introduced to the

Duke of Bridgewater Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

who was enthusiastic enough to immediately order eight boats of similar construction for his canal. Unfortunately, the Duke of Bridgewater died a few days before the first sailing, and nothing came of this order. Lord Dundas and some of his relatives and friends were on board for the first sailing of the boat on the canal in 1803, but despite the success of the ''Charlotte Dundas'' fears of erosion of the banks prevailed, and the trials were ended leaving Symington out-of-pocket.

Family

Thomas Dundas, futuro primo barone Dundas

Sir Thomas Dundas, 2nd Baronet married Lady Charlotte FitzWilliam, the daughter of

William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam (15 January 1719/20 – 10 August 1756) was a British peer, nobleman, and politician. He was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum L ...

, on 24 May 1764 and they had 14 children: * Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland (1766–1839) * Anne Dundas (1767) * Thomas Dundas (born 1768; died young) * Lt-Col. William Lawrence Dundas (18 May 1770 – 1796), died in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

Charles Lawrence Dundas Hon. Charles Lawrence Dundas (18 July 1771 – 25 January 1810) was a British politician and Whig Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. He represented Malton from 1798–1805 and Richmond from 1806 to his death. Early life and educat ...

(18 July 1771 – 25 January 1810), married Lady Caroline Beauclerk, daughter of Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans * Margaret Dundas (9 November 1772 – 8 May 1852), married Archibald Spiers * Charlotte Dundas (18 June 1774 – 5 January 1855), married Rev. William Wharton * Thomas Lawrence Dundas (12 October 1775 – 17 March 1848) * Frances Laura Dundas (24 May 1777 – 27 November 1844), married Robert Chaloner * R-Adm.

George Heneage Lawrence Dundas George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

(1778–1834) * Maj-Gen. Sir

Robert Lawrence Dundas Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Lawrence Dundas (27 July 1780 – 23 November 1844) was a British Whig and military commander during the Peninsular War. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons representing Malton from 1807 to 181 ...

(27 July 1780 – 23 November 1844) * Dorothy Dundas (August 1785 – December 1790) * Mary Dundas (30 May 1787 – 1 November 1830), married Charles FitzWilliam, 5th Earl FitzWilliam * Isabella Dundas (25 February 1790 – 6 December 1887), married

John Charles Ramsden John Charles Ramsden (30 April 1788 – 29 December 1836) was a British Whig politician from Newby Park in Yorkshire. He sat in the House of Commons between 1812 and 1836. Early life He was the eldest son of Sir John Ramsden, 4th Baronet (17 ...

External links

William SymingtonZetland Estates
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dundas, Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron 1741 births 1820 deaths Anglo-Scots People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of St Andrews Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Fellows of the Royal Society Lord Lieutenants of Orkney and Shetland Place of birth missing Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George III

Biography

''Charlotte Dundas''

Family

See also

External links