John Bruce of Grangehill and Falkland FRS

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". ...

(1744–1826) was a Scottish academic, politician and historiographer to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

Life

He was born in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

in 1744 or 1745, the son of Andrew Bruce (1710–1761) and Jean Squyre (1724–1794). While he had himself declared heir male of the family of Bruce of Earlshall, Bruce inherited from his father Andrew Bruce, a shipmaster, only the property of Grangehill, near

Kinghorn Kinghorn (; ) is a town and parish in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, opposite Edinburgh. Known as the place where K ...

Fifeshire Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council area and lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the south, Perth and Kinross to the west and Clackmannanshire t ...

. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, where he was then appointed assistant professor of logic to John Stevenson, and professor of moral philosophy. Tutor to

Robert Saunders Dundas Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, (14 March 1771 – 10 June 1851) was a British statesman, the son of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount. Dundas was the Member of Parliament for Hastings in 1794, Rye in 1796 and Midlothian in 1801. He was a ...

, the son of

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 ...

, Bruce was rewarded by a share, with

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 in ...

of the reversion of the patent of king's printer and stationer for Scotland; and was appointed keeper of the state paper office, secretary for the Latin language to the Privy Council, and official historiographer to the East India Company from 1801. He was Member of Parliament for Mitchell, Cornwall, from February 1809 till July 1814, and for a short time

Secretary to the Board of Control The Secretary to the Board of Control was a British government office in the late 18th and early 19th century, supporting the President of the Board of Control, who was responsible for overseeing the British East India Company and generally servin ...

, under Robert Dundas. Bruce was an elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of London 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, r ...

in 1791. In 1783 he was a founding member of the

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 establis ...

. He was also a fellow of the

Royal Society of Göttingen Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

. In 1764 he founded

the Speculative Society The Speculative Society is a Scottish Enlightenment society dedicated to public speaking and literary composition, founded in 1764. It was mainly, but not exclusively, an Edinburgh University student organisation. The formal purpose of the Society ...

. He died at his home of Nuthill House in

, on 16 April 1826.

Family

His niece Margaret Bruce (1788–1869) married Onesiphorus Tyndall, thereafter titled Tyndall-Bruce (1790–1855). He rose to be Deputy Lieutenant of Fife.

Works

Bruce's works included some privately printed for confidential us the government: * ''First Principles of Philosophy'', Edinburgh, 1780, 1781, 1785. * ''Elements of the Science of Ethics, or the Principles of Natural Philosophy'', London, 1786. * ''Historical View of Plans for the Government of British India'', 1793. * ''Review of the Events and Treaties which established the Balance of Power in Europe, and the Balance of Trade in favour of Great Britain'', London, 1796. * ''Report on the Arrangements which were made for the internal Defence of these Kingdoms when Spain by its Armada projected the Invasion and Conquest of England'', London, 1798; privately printed for the use of ministers at the time of a threatened French invasion. William Pitt based his measures of the provisional cavalry and army of reserve on this report. * ''Report on the Events and Circumstances which produced the Union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland; on the effects of this great National Event on the reciprocal interests of both Kingdoms; and on the political and commercial influence of Great Britain in the Balance of Power in Europe'', 2 vols., London

799 __NOTOC__ Year 799 ( DCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 799 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...

These papers were collected for the

Duke of Portland 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 above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

, then secretary of state, when the union between Great Britain and Ireland came under consideration. * ''Report on the Arrangements which have been adopted in former periods, when France threatened Invasions of Britain or Ireland, to frustrate the designs of the enemy by attacks on his foreign possessions or European ports, by annoying his coasts, and by destroying his equipments'', London

801 __NOTOC__ Year 801 ( DCCCI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar, the 801st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 801st year of the 1st millennium, the 1st year of the 9th century, and the 2nd ...

privately printed for the government. * ''Annals of the East India Company from their establishment by the Charter of Queen Elizabeth, 1600, to the union of the London and English East India Company, 1707–8'', 3 vols., London, 1810. * ''Report on the Renewal of the Company's Exclusive Privileges of Trade for twenty years from March 1794'', London, 1811. * ''Speech in the Committee of the House of Commons on India Affairs'', London, 1813.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, John 1744 births 1826 deaths 19th-century Scottish historians Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall Fellows of the Royal Society UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Writers from Fife Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish historians Historians of India