David Melville, later Leslie, 3rd Earl of Leven and ''de jure'' 2nd Earl of Melville (5 May 16606 June 1728) was a Scottish aristocrat, politician, and soldier. The third son of George Melville, 1st Earl of Melville and his second wife Catherine Leslie-Melville, he shared the Whig political and the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

religious sympathies of his father. In 1681, with the death of the rival claimant, John Leslie, 1st Duke of Rothes, he was permitted to enter into the Earldom of Leven. In 1683 Leven and his father were suspected of complicity in the

Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...

, a Whig conspiracy to assassinate Charles II and his brother James, Duke of York. To escape arrest they fled to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

where they joined the band of British Protestant exiles at the court of Prince William of Orange. Here Leven was used by William to obtain the support of German princes for his invasion of England in 1688, Leven himself having raised a regiment for that invasion, in the course of which he received the surrender of the town of Plymouth in south

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

shire. He became a

Privy Councillor of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. In the range of its functions the council was often more important than the Estates in the running the country. Its registers include a wide range of m ...

in 1689, and fought at the

Battle of Killiecrankie The Battle of Killiecrankie ( gd, Blàr Choille Chnagaidh), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee and ...

that year. He also served as Keeper of Edinburgh Castle between 1689 and 1702, and again between 1704 and 1712. Leven was also a Commissioner for the Pacification of the Highlands from 1689. Leven served as Governor of the Bank of Scotland between 1697 and 1728, and in 1702 was promoted to brigadier-general, followed by

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1704. He became Master of the Scottish Ordnance in 1705, and Commander-in-Chief, Scotland in 1706. Also in 1706 he was elected one of the

representative peers 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 to ...

to sit in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

after the Acts of Union in 1707 abolished the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

. He became a lieutenant-general in 1707. He became a Commissioner for the Union in 1707 and was one of the original Representative Peers for Scotland from 1707 until 1710. He was dismissed from all offices in 1712. He succeeded his father as

Earl of Melville Earl of Melville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1690 for the Scottish soldier and statesman George Melville, 4th Lord Melville. He was made Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie and Viscount of Kirkcaldy at the same tim ...

on 20 May 1707, but did not use the title.

References

External links

Leven's Regiment plaque, Edinburgh Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leven, David Melville, 3rd Earl of 1660 births 1728 deaths Earls of Leven Governors of the Bank of Scotland Scottish generals Scottish soldiers Whig (British political party) politicians Scottish Presbyterians Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland Scottish representative peers People of the Rye House Plot 17th-century Scottish peers Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689