Sir James Caldwell, 4th Baronet, Count of Milan (c.1720 – February 1784) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

soldier and author. Caldwell was the son of Sir John Caldwell, 3rd Baronet and Anne Trench. He graduated from

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

in 1737 and was made a freeman of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

in 1741. In the early 1740s he undertook the Grand Tour, during which he enlisted as an officer in the Austrian Imperial Army. He served as aide-de-camp to

Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death in 1773. He was the paternal grandfather of the l ...

, and was employed chiefly in negotiating with the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

. He was made Count of Milan by Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

in 1749, having inherited his father's

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1744. Unwilling to take the oath of allegiance to Austria, Caldwell declined the post of chamberlain to Maria Theresa and returned to Ireland in 1750. In 1753 Caldwell was elected to be a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He was appointed colonel of a regiment of militia foot and High Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1756. Between 1759 and 1763 he raised and maintained a regiment of light horse at his own expense, which was used in the suppression of

Whiteboys The Whiteboys () were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which defended tenant-farmer land-rights for subsistence farming. Their name derives from the white smocks that members wore in their nighttime raids. Becaus ...

activity. In 1762 he was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

. He improved the estate at Castle Caldwell and gave land for the construction of a Roman Catholic church. Caldwell was a recorder of parliamentary speeches, publishing accounts of the activity in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

in 1762 and of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

from 1763 and 1764. He married Elizabeth Hort, daughter of

Josiah Hort Josiah Hort (c. 1674 – 14 December 1751), was an English clergyman of the Church of Ireland who ended his career as archbishop of Tuam. Born in Marshfield, Gloucestershire, son of John Hort, and brought up as a Nonconformist, Hort went to sc ...

. He was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, John Caldwell (1756–1830).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, James, 4th Baronet Year of birth uncertain 1784 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland Counts of Austria Fellows of the Royal Society High sheriffs of County Fermanagh Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire) personnel