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Sir Adam Fergusson
Sir Adam Fergusson, 3rd Baronet of Kilkerran, FRSE LLD (7 May 1733 – 25 September 1813) was a Scottish advocate, politician and slave-owner. He was described as able but humourless. Together with contemporaries such as Robert Dundas he was part of what was called the Scotch Ministry in parliament in the late 18th century. He was joint owner, with his brothers and members of the Hunter-Blair family, of plantations in Tobago and Jamaica and of several hundred enslaved African people. Dr Samuel Johnson described him as "a vile Whig" however his friend James Boswell was less condemning, saying "few people were but mixed character, like a candle: half wax, half tallow- but Sir Adam Fergusson was all wax, with a pure taper, whom you may light and set upon any lady’s table". Robert Burns who knew Fergusson through his Ayr connections, called him "the oath-detesting, chaste, Kilkerran". Boswell described him as "his excellent friend". Life He was born in Ayrshire on 7 May 1733, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This society received a royal charter in 1783, allowing for its expansion. Elections Around 50 new fellows are elected each year in March. there are around 1,650 Fellows, including 71 Honorary Fellows and 76 Corresponding Fellows. Fellows are entitled to use the post-nominal letters FRSE, Honorary Fellows HonFRSE, and Corresponding Fellows CorrFRSE. Disciplines The Fellowship is split into four broad sectors, covering the full range of physical and life sciences, arts, humanities, social sciences, education, professions, industry, business and public life. A: Life sciences * A1: Biomedical and cognitive sciences * A2: Clinical sciences * A3: Organismal and environmental biology * A4: Cell and molecular biology B: Physical, enginee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1791 to 1794 and First Lord of the Admirality from 1804 to 1805. He was instrumental in the encouragement of the Scottish Enlightenment, in the prosecution of the war against France, and in the expansion of British influence in India. Prime Minister William Pitt appointed him Lord of Trade (1784–1786), Home Secretary (1791–1794), President of the Board of Control for Indian Affairs (1793–1801), Secretary at War (1794–1801) and First Lord of the Admiralty (1804–1805). As a political boss, Dundas's deft and almost absolute power over Scottish politics during a long period in which no monarch visited the country led to him being nicknamed "King Harry the Ninth", the "Grand Manager of Scotland" (a play on the masonic office of Grand Master of Scotland), and "The Uncrowned King of Scotland. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh (UK Parliament Constituency)
Edinburgh was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until 1885. Creation The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland burgh constituency of Edinburgh. History The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ... system until representation was increased to two members in 1832. It was abolished in 1885, being split into Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh South, Edinburgh East and Edinburgh West (UK Parliament constituency), Edinburgh West. Boundaries The boundaries of the constituency, as set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet
Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (February 1741 – 1 July 1787) was a Scottish banker, landowner and politician. Life Born John Hunter in Ayr, the son of a merchant,Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Caledonian Society of Scotland John Hunter of Mainholm and Millquarter and his wife, Anne Cunninghame. In 1756 he was apprenticed to Messrs Coutts, bankers in Edinburgh and in 1763 became a partner in the banking company of Sir Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet, William Forbes, and acquired the estate of Robertland. After his marrying Jean Blair, the daughter and heiress of John Blair of Dunskey in Wigtownshire in 1770, the family name became Hunter Blair when she inherited her father's estate in 1777. Hunter Blair was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh (UK Parliament constituency), Edinburgh from 1780 to 1784 and Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1784 to 1786. As Lord Provost, he carried through various reforms, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Society Of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established in 1783. , there are around 1,800 Fellows. The Society covers a broader range of fields than the Royal Society of London, including literature and history. The Fellowship includes people from a wide range of disciplines: science and technology, arts, humanities, medicine, social science, business, and public service. History At the start of the 18th century, Edinburgh's intellectual climate fostered many clubs and societies (see Scottish Enlightenment). Though there were several that treated the arts, sciences and medicine, the most prestigious was the Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge, commonly referred to as the Medical Society of Edinburgh, co-founded by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin in 1731. Maclaurin was u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas, Heron & Company
Douglas, Heron & Company, also known as the Ayr Bank, was a Scottish bank with its head office at Ayr. It opened in November 1769 and folded in 1772 during the crisis of 1772. History The nominal capital of the company was £150,000 or £160,000, of which £96,000 was immediately subscribed. However, no more than 80% of the capital was ever subscribed. There were 131 original partners, including Patrick Heron of Kirroughtree, the Earl of Dumfries, the Earl of March, and Sir Adam Fergusson of Kilkerran. Many of the partners were substantial landowners, such as the Duke of Buccleuch, the Duke of Queensberry, and Archibald Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas. The bank was established under a contract of co-partnery, so the partners were not protected by limited liability. This made the bank seem very secure, because its deposits were backed by the partners' land as collateral. The bank granted many loans to favoured customers and soon had to issue bank notes to cover its position. By June ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord North
Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the American Revolutionary War. He also held a number of other cabinet posts, including Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer. North's reputation among historians has varied wildly, reaching its lowest point in the late 19th century, when he was depicted as a creature of the king and an incompetent who lost the American colonies. In the early 20th century, a revised view emerged which emphasised his strengths in administering the Treasury, handling the House of Commons, and in defending the Church of England. Historian Herbert Butterfield, however, argued that his indolence was a barrier to efficient crisis management; he neglected his role in supervising the entire war effort. Early life Birth and family North was born in London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia. Modern humans arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa no later than 55,000 years ago., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnatic Region
The Carnatic region is the peninsular South Indian region between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, in the erstwhile Madras Presidency and in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and southern coastal Andhra Pradesh. During the British era, demarcation was different and the region included current-day Karnataka and the whole region south of the Deccan. Etymology A number of theories exist as to the derivation of the term ''Carnatic'' or ''Karnatic''. According to Bishop Robert Caldwell, in his ''Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages'', the term is derived from ''Kar'', "black", and ''nadu,'' "country", i.e. "the black country", which refers to the black soil prevalent on the plateau of the Southern Deccan. When the English settled on the East Coast, all South India, from the river Krishna to Cape Comorin, was under the rule of a Kanarese dynasty, reigning at Vijayanagar, and was known as the Karnataka Realm. Hence the name "Carnatic" has come to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl Of Eglinton
Colonel Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton, KT (5 November 1739 – 14 December 1819), styled Lord Montgomerie from 1769 to 1796, was a British politician, military officer and composer. Early life Montgomerie was born on 5 November 1739. He was the son of Alexander Montgomerie (d. 1783) and Lillias Montgomery (1715–1783). Among his siblings were Lillias Montgomerie (wife of John Hamilton of Sundrum), Frances Montgomerie (wife of James Ritchie of Busbie and Craigton), Alexander Montgomerie (who married Elizabeth Taylor), Archibald Montgomerie (who married Marie Chantrey), Lt.-Gen. James Montgomerie (who married Harriet Elizabeth Jackson). His paternal grandparents were Hugh Montgomerie (a grandson of the 6th Earl of Eglinton) and Katherine ( Arbuckle), widow of John Hamilton of Letham. His paternal grandparents were Sir Robert Montgomery, 5th Baronet and the former Frances Stirling (eldest daughter of Col. Francis Stirling). Career He sat as a Member of Parliament f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet
Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet Privy Council of Ireland, PC (29 September 1732 – 3 August 1804) was an Anglo-Irish politician noted for his extensive recording of parliamentary debates in the late 1760s and early 1770s. Early life Cavendish was the son of Sir Henry Cavendish, 1st Baronet, and his wife Anne (née Pyne), daughter of Henry Pyne and Anne Edgcumbe, and granddaughter of Sir Richard Pyne, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and his wife Catherine Wandesford, a granddaughter of the leading Anglo-Irish statesman Christopher Wandesford. This branch of the Cavendish family descended from Henry Cavendish, illegitimate son of Henry Cavendish (politician), Henry Cavendish of Tutbury Prior, eldest son of William Cavendish (courtier), Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick and elder brother of William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire (the ancestor of the Duke of Devonshire, Dukes of Devonshire). The Pyne family were substantial landowners in County Cork, and owned the celebrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menorca
Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the island's eastern end, although Menorca is not a province and forms a political union with the other islands in the archipelago. Ciutadella de Menorca, Ciutadella and Maó are the main ports and largest towns. Menorca had a population of 102,477 at the Census of 1 January 2025, Its highest point, called El Toro (Minorca), El Toro (from Catalan "''turó''" meaning ''hill''), roughly in the middle of the island, is Above mean sea level, above sea level. History The island is known for its collection of European megalithic culture, megalithic stone monuments: naveta, ''navetes'', taula, ''taules'' and ''talaiots'', which indicate very early prehistoric human activity. Some of the earliest culture on Menorca was influenced by other Mediterran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
