Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian, (2 December 1833 – 17 January 1900), styled Lord Schomberg Kerr until 1870, was a British diplomat and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He served as

Secretary for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

under

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United ...

between 1887 and 1892. He was usually styled simply as Lothian.

Background and education

Lothian was the second son of

John Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian John William Robert Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1 February 1794 – 14 November 1841), styled Lord Newbottle until 1815 and Earl of Ancram from 1815 to 1824, was a Tory politician. He served briefly as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard under ...

, and Lady Cecil Kerr. His younger brothers Major-General Lord Ralph Kerr (1837–1916) and

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Lord Walter Kerr Admiral of the Fleet Lord Walter Talbot Kerr, (28 September 1839 – 12 May 1927) was a Royal Navy officer. After taking part in the Crimean War and then the Indian Mutiny, he supervised the handover of Ulcinj to Montenegro to allow Montenegro an ...

(1839–1927) both had distinguished military careers.thepeerage.com Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian
/ref> He was educated at Trinity College Glenalmond, now

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

Perth, and was one of the first of 14 boys to join the newly started school in 1847. He later went to

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

before attending

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

. He did not graduate.

Diplomatic and political career

Lothian entered the Diplomatic Service and was an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

in 1854,

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in 1855 and

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

from 1857, then second secretary at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

from 1862,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

from 1865, and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1865. In 1870, he succeeded to the marquessate on the death of his childless elder brother, William, and took his seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. In 1886, he was sworn of the Privy Council, and the following year he succeeded

Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour (; 25 July 184819 March 1930) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As Foreign Secretary ...

and Vice-President of the Scottish Education Department in

's Conservative administration. However, in contrast to Balfour, he was not a member of the cabinet. He remained as head of the Scotland Office until the government fell in 1892. Apart from his political career, Lord Lothian was

Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland The office of Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland, one of the Great Officers of State, first appears in the reign of David II of Scotland, David II. After the Act of Union 1707 its holder was normally a peerage, peer, like the Great Seal of Sco ...

from 1874, a post he held until his death 26 years later, and was also

Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland The keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''Neach-gleidhidh Seula Mòr na h-Alba'') is one of the great officers of state in Scotland held concurrently with the post of first minister of Scotland. The office holder is the keeper ...

while Secretary for Scotland. In 1878, he was created a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

, and in 1882 he received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

(

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

) from 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 ...

. The students of the same university elected him

Rector of the University of Edinburgh The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role T ...

between 1887 and 1890. He was a Trustee of the Board of Manufactures in Scotland until his death. He was Captain-General of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

, president of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

(1876-1890) and

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

(1894-1898), and a Knight of Grace of the

Venerable Order of Saint John of Jerusalem The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

. From 1878 to 1889, he was Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the

3rd (Edinburgh Light Infantry Militia) Battalion, Royal Scots Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, (which had previously been commanded by his father and grandfather) and he later became Honorary Colonel of that battalion.''Army List''. He is buried at Newbattle but memorialised in the Kerr family vault in

Jedburgh Abbey Jedburgh Abbey, a ruined Augustinians, Augustinian abbey which was founded in the 12th century, is situated in the town of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders, north of the border with England at Carter Bar. History Towards the middle of the 9th ...

Family

Lord Lothian married, in 1865, Lady Victoria Alexandrina (d.1938), daughter of

Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry (25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a prominent Scottish nobleman ...

. They had three sons and six daughters: * Lady Cecil Kerr (14 February 1866 – 13 September 1919) married John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu de Beaulieu and she founded the

Ladies' Automobile Club The Ladies' Automobile Club was formed by a group of aristocratic women in 1903. The club continued until the 1920s when it was absorbed by the Royal Automobile Club. History In October 1899 Florence Wallace Pomeroy, Viscountess Harberton, who w ...

. * Walter William Schomberg Kerr, Earl of Ancram (29 March 1867 – June 1892) * Lady Margaret Kerr (12 June 1868 – 2 September 1964) * Lord Schomberg Kerr (4 August 1869 – 1877) * Lady Mary Kerr (25 December 1870 – 31 December 1958), married Henry Kidd * Lady Helen Kerr (9 December 1872 – 4 June 1968), married in 1902 her relative Major Frederic Walter Kerr (1867–1914), son of Admiral Lord Frederic Kerr (1818–1896), who was the youngest son of

William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, (4 October 1763 – 27 April 1824), was a British soldier, landowner and politician. He was the son of William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian. He served as a representative peer from 1817 to 1824. Life ...

* Robert Schomberg Henry Kerr, 10th marquess of Lothian – (1874 – 1930) * Lady Victoria Kerr (7 November 1876 – 23 May 1956) married William Sullivan Gosling * Lady Isobel Alice Adelaide Kerr (25 September 1881 – 26 December 1975) married James Cospatrick Hepburne-Scott The eldest son Walter Kerr, Earl of Ancram (1867–1892) died in a shooting accident in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in June 1892, unmarried, while his second son Lord Schomberg Kerr (1869–1877) died in childhood. Lord Lothian died at his town residence in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 17 January 1900, aged 66, and was succeeded in the marquessate by his third and only surviving son, Robert. The Marchioness of Lothian later remarried and died in June 1938, aged 93.

References

*Torrance, David, ''The Scottish Secretaries'' (Birlinn 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lothian, Schomberg Kerr, 9th Marquess Of 1833 births 1900 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford Knights of the Thistle Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Secretaries for Scotland Rectors of the University of Edinburgh People educated at Glenalmond College Members of the Royal Company of Archers Royal Scots officers 9 Schomberg Presidents of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Fellows of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland People educated at Eton College