James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn

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The Duke of Abercorn
Lord Abercorn, c. 1894
Governor of Northern Ireland
In office
12 December 1922 – 6 September 1945
Monarchs
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byThe Earl Granville
Personal details
Born(1869-11-30)30 November 1869
Hamilton Place, Piccadilly, London
Died12 September 1953(1953-09-12) (aged 83)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyUnionist
SpouseLady Rosalind Bingham
Children
Parents

James Albert Edward Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn KG KP PC (30 November 1869 – 12 September 1953), styled Marquess of Hamilton between 1885 and 1913, was a British peer and Unionist politician. He was the first Governor of Northern Ireland, a post he held between 1922 and 1945. He was a great-grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Flag of the governor of Northern Ireland

Background and education[edit]

Born in Hamilton Place, Piccadilly, London, he was the eldest son of James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn, and godson of the Prince of Wales. His mother Lady Mary Anna was the fourth daughter of Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe.[1] He was educated at Eton and subsequently served first in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers until 1892 when he joined the 1st Life Guards. Hamilton was later transferred as major to the North Irish Horse.[1]

In early 1901, he accompanied his father on a special diplomatic mission to announce the accession of King Edward to the governments of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Russia, Germany, and Saxony.[2]

Political career[edit]

In the 1900 general election, Hamilton stood successfully as Unionist candidate for Londonderry City, and three years later he became Treasurer of the Household, a post he held until the fall of Balfour's Conservative administration in 1905.[3] After serving for a time as an Opposition whip, Hamilton succeeded his father as third Duke of Abercorn in 1913. From the 1890s until the partition of Ireland he was a prominent figure in the Unionist campaign to resist Home Rule in Ireland. In 1922 he was appointed governor of the newly created Northern Ireland. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone from 1917 until his death, having previously been a Deputy Lieutenant for County Donegal.[4] Abercorn proved a popular royal representative in Northern Ireland, and was reappointed to the post in 1928 after completing his first term of office. In 1931, he declined the offer of the governor generalship of Canada, and three years later he was again reappointed governor for a third term. He remained in this capacity until his resignation in July 1945.[5]

Abercorn was made the last non-royal Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick in 1922, and six years later became a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. In the latter year, he was also the recipient of an honorary degree from the Queen's University of Belfast, and received the Royal Victorian Chain in 1945, the same year he was sworn of the Privy Council.

Family and children[edit]

Abercorn married Lady Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham (1869–1958), only daughter of Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan and his wife Lady Cecilia Catherine Gordon-Lennox (1838–1910, daughter of Charles Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond) at St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge, on 1 November 1894.[3] They had three daughters and two sons:

Abercorn died at his London home in 1953,[5] and was buried at Baronscourt in County Tyrone.

Ancestry[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Dod (1915), p. 40
  2. ^ "The King - the special Embassies". The Times. No. 36410. London. 23 March 1901. p. 12.
  3. ^ a b Cokayne (1910), p. 10
  4. ^ a b Burke (2003), p. 6
  5. ^ a b The Times (London), Monday, 14 September 1953 p. 10 col. D

References[edit]

  • Cokayne, George Edward (1910). Vicary Gibbs (ed.). The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Vol. I. London: The St Catherine Press Ltd.
  • Burke, John (2003). Charles Mosley (ed.). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition. Vol. I. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage and Gentry Llc.
  • Charles Roger Dod; Robert Phipps Dod (1915). Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland for 1915. London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co. Ltd.

External links[edit]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Londonderry City
1900–1913
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Treasurer of the Household
1903–1905
Succeeded by
New office Governor of Northern Ireland
1922–1945
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone
1917–1945
Succeeded by
Peerage of Ireland
Preceded by Duke of Abercorn
1913–1953
Succeeded by