Sir John George Tollemache Sinclair, 3rd Baronet (8 November 1825 – 30 September 1912) was a Scottish landowner and Liberal 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 1869 to 1885.

Early life

Born in Edinburgh in 1825, he was the son of

Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet Sir George Sinclair, 2nd Baronet (28 August 1790 – 1868), was a Scottish politician and author. Background and education Sinclair, the eldest son of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet of Ulbster, and Diana, only daughter of Alexander Macdonald, ...

, and Lady Catherine Camilla Tollemache, daughter of William Talmash, Lord Huntingtower. He was a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

for Queen Adelaide. Sinclair was educated at

Cheam School Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich. History The school started in Cheam, Surre ...

and the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...

Career

He served as a lieutenant in the

Scots Fusilier Guards Scots may refer to: People and cultures * Scots language * Scottish people * Scoti, a Latin name for the Gaels Other uses * SCOTS, abbreviation for Royal Regiment of Scotland * Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech (SCOTS), a linguistic resource * ...

. In 1861 he was made Vice-

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

for

Caithness Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland. There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...

. In 1868 he succeeded his father to the baronetcy. Sinclair was elected member of parliament for

in 1869 and held the seat until 1885. His majority of 13 over the Conservative candidate at the 1874 election is one of the smallest on record. At the 1885 General election, his son Clarence succeeded him as Liberal candidate, but was defeated by Gavin Brown Clark, the

Crofters' Party The Crofters' Party was the parliamentary arm of the Highland Land League. It gained five MPs in the 1885 general election and five in the election of the following year. The Highland Land League had started on the Isle of Skye, and in 1884 pr ...

candidate.

Personal life

In 1853, Sinclair married Emma Standish, daughter of William Standish, Duxbury Park,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and Cocken Hall, Durham. Before their marriage was dissolved in 1878, the couple had two sons and two daughters: * Amy Camilla Sinclair (–1925), who married John Henry Udny of Udny Castle, grandson of diplomat John Udny. * Nina Mary Adelaide Sinclair (1856–1924), who married

Owen Lewis Cope Williams Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Owen Lewis Cope Williams Justice of the Peace, JP (13 July 1836 – 2 October 1904) was a British Army officer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who sat in the House of Co ...

, son of Lt.-Col.

Thomas Peers Williams Thomas Peers Williams (27 March 1795 – 8 September 1875) was a British politician, military officer and landowner who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of Parliament for Great Marlow (UK Parliament constituency), Great Marlow ...

. * Clarence Granville Sinclair (1858–1895), who married American heiress Mabel Sands, daughter of Mahlon Day Sands, and half-sister of Ethel Sands. * George Felix Standish Sinclair JP (1861–1943), who married Margaret Sinclair, a daughter of Alexander Young Sinclair (son of Sir John Sinclair, 6th Baronet). Sir John died on 30 September 1912. As he was predeceased by his eldest son Clarence, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, who was later created Viscount Thurso in 1952.

Interests

Sinclair was the earliest born person to have made a

gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

disc recording. He made titles for Columbia, Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd. and Odeon, all in 1906. He also commissioned a statue of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, at 143–144

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, John, 3rd Baronet 1825 births 1912 deaths Nobility from Edinburgh Politicians from Edinburgh Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People educated at Cheam School Scots Guards officers 19th-century Scottish landowners Alumni of University College, Durham 19th-century Scottish businesspeople