Ranald George Macdonald (29 August 1788 – 11 March 1873) was a

Scottish clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...

and Member of Parliament. Macdonald was the son of John Macdonald, 19th Chief of Clanranald, by Katherine, the daughter of

Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield (4 May 1722 – 30 May 1799) was a Scottish advocate and judge. Life McQueen was born at Braxfield House near Lanark on 4 May 1722, son of John McQueen. He studied law at Edinburgh University and was admitted to ...

.''Macdonald, Ranald George''
in The ''History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820'', ed. R. Thorne, 1986 He became the 20th Chief of Clanranald. He married Caroline Anne, daughter of

Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

, on 13 February 1812 and had issue. He was elected to Parliament for Plympton Erle on 10 October 1812 and sat until 1824. In 1824

Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry Colonel Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry (15 September 1773 – 17 January 1828), sometimes called by the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic version of his name, Alastair or Alasdair, was Scottish clan chief, clan chief of Clan MacDonell of Glenga ...

unsuccessfully attempted to deprive Macdonald of the chiefship of

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...

by bringing an action in the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

. Between 1813 and 1838, Clanranald sold almost the entirety of his estates. He attributed his financial misfortune to peculation on the part of his trustees. However, the historical consensus has been that his ruin resulted primarily from his folly and extravagance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Ranald George 1788 births 1873 deaths UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 Scottish clan chiefs Ranald George Highland Clearances Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle Clanranald, Ranald George Macdonald, 6th Baron 19th-century Scottish businesspeople