Peter McLagan (1823 – 31 August 1900) was a British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1865 to 1893. He was Scotland's first non-White and first Black MP.

Life

McLagan was born in

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

. His father was Peter McLagan (1774–1860), and his mother was an unknown black woman. His father co-owned a sugar plantation with

Samuel Sandbach Samuel Sandbach (1769 – 26 April 1851) was successively bailiff, coroner and Mayor of Liverpool, as well as High Sheriff of Denbighshire and a Justice of the Peace for Lancashire. He made his fortune as a merchant in a partnership that traded ...

. When the UK Government emancipated the slaves in the 1830s, they paid over £21,000 (£2,791,310 in 2020) in compensation to the elder McLagan and Sandbach for the legal emancipation of over 400 slaves. He left British Guiana with his father as a child and was educated in

Tillicoultry Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...

and

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

, before attending 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 ...

. In 1841, at the age of 18, he is known to be living at 77 Great King Street in the

New Town, Edinburgh The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

, with his father and cousin. His father died in 1860 and is buried in New Calton cemetery. At the 1865 general election, he was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament for

Linlithgowshire West Lothian, also known as Linlithgowshire (its official name until 1925), is a counties of Scotland, historic county in the east central Lowlands of Scotland. until 1925. It is bounded geographically by the River Avon, Falkirk, Avon to the wes ...

, and was re-elected at the next six general elections. He resigned his seat on 2 June 1893 by becoming

Steward of the Manor of Northstead The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidde ...

. As an MP, he supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, the need for women doctors, and the

Irish Home Rule Movement The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for Devolution, self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to ...

, although he abstained on the

First Home Rule Bill The Government of Ireland Bill 1886, commonly known as the First Home Rule Bill, was the first major attempt made by a British government to enact a law creating home rule for part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was intr ...

. In 1878, he and his wife supported the erection of the McLagan memorial water fountain in

Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...

. McLagan owned the

Pumpherston Pumpherston is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. Originally a small industrial village housing works for the nearby shale mine and works, it now forms the eastern part of the new town of Livingston, which was constructed to the west of Pumph ...

estate in

West Lothian West Lothian (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, bordering (in a clockwise direction) the City of Edinburgh council area, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The modern counci ...

. He died at

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

in London but is buried with his wife in the churchyard of

Kirk of Calder Kirk of Calder is a medieval church in Mid Calder, West Lothian. It is listed as a Listed building#Scotland, Category A building by Historic Environment Scotland. The church is of Ashlar stone in a Gothic architecture, Gothic style. The present K ...

Mid Calder Mid Calder (; ) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on a steep hill overlooking the River Almond and Calder Wood, around west of Edinburgh. The settlement has been on a major crossroads since its origin some time in the 11th ...

, West Lothian.

Family

He was married to Elizabeth Ann Taylor (1846–1882).

References

External links

* 1823 births 1900 deaths Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 Black British MPs {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub