He was the son of Sholto Douglas, 15th Earl of Morton, and Katherine Hamilton. He succeeded to the title Earl of Morton in 1774 aged only thirteen, following the death of his father. He was sent to Eton College to be educated.[1] Following his education he conducted a Grand Tour of Europe, as was the fashion of the day, and visited most of the European Courts.
The Earl was a frequent member of the Royal Company of Archers. Also, he had an interest in horse breeding and was noted for his attempts to breed a quagga.[3]
He served as a representative peer from 1784 to 1790 and as Queen's Chamberlain 1792 to 1818. He was also Lord Lieutenant of Fife from 1808 to 1824. He was also High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland.
Douglas was succeeded in the earldom by his first cousin, George Sholto Douglas. The barony of Douglas of Loch Leven became extinct on his death.
Freemasonryedit
Lord Morton was a Scottish Freemason. He was Initiated in Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No. 2, on 30 November 1789. The source here cited states, incorrectly, that he was the 17th earl.[7] Exactly one year later he was elected as Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
During his term in office there were several notable events, one concerning politics. "It was declared by Grand Lodge, on 1 August [1791] that difference of political sentiments was to be no bar to Masonic fellowship, and that any Daughter Lodge guilty of excluding any Brother on that account merely would incur such censure as the Grand Lodge might at the time deem proper."[8]
^(PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
^"Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 28 November 2010.[permanent dead link]
^"A quagga". Douglas History. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
^The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, (periodical) July to December 1827
^Ewan, Elizabeth L.; Innes, Sue; Reynolds, Sian; Pipes, Rose (2007). Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN978-0748617135.
^History of the Lodge Canongate Kilwinning, No.2, compiled from the records 1677–1888. By Alan MacKenzie. 1888. p. 243.
^The History of Freemasonry and Grand Lodge of Scotland. By William A. Lawrie. Edinburgh. 1859. p. 146.
george, douglas, 16th, earl, morton, frse, april, 1761, july, 1827, scottish, nobleman, 1761, 1827, dress, royal, company, archers, holding, longbow, black, plumed, white, cockaded, holyrood, park, with, duddingston, loch, edinburgh, castle, beyond, william, b. George Douglas 16th Earl of Morton KT FRS FRSE FSA 3 April 1761 17 July 1827 was a Scottish nobleman George Douglas 16th Earl of Morton K T 1761 1827 in the dress of the Royal Company of Archers holding a longbow and a black plumed white cockaded cap in Holyrood Park with Duddingston Loch and Edinburgh Castle beyond William Beechey Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Freemasonry 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksLife editHe was the son of Sholto Douglas 15th Earl of Morton and Katherine Hamilton He succeeded to the title Earl of Morton in 1774 aged only thirteen following the death of his father He was sent to Eton College to be educated 1 Following his education he conducted a Grand Tour of Europe as was the fashion of the day and visited most of the European Courts He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in February 1785 His proposers were Daniel Rutherford John Robison and Alexander Keith He served as vice president of the Royal Society of London occasionally from 1795 to 1819 if Joseph Banks was unavailable 2 The Earl was a frequent member of the Royal Company of Archers Also he had an interest in horse breeding and was noted for his attempts to breed a quagga 3 He served as a representative peer from 1784 to 1790 and as Queen s Chamberlain 1792 to 1818 He was also Lord Lieutenant of Fife from 1808 to 1824 He was also High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland On 11 August 1791 he was created Baron Douglas of Loch Leven in the County of Kinross 4 Thereafter he took a seat in the House of Lords between Lord Howard de Walden and Lord Walsingham He was knighted at St James s Palace in 1797 as a Knight of the Thistle He died at the family estate of Dalmahoy House on 17 July 1827 5 Family editOn 13 August 1814 he married Susan Elizabeth Buller daughter of Sir Francis Buller They had no children His illegitimate children included Georgiana Dods and Walter Sholto Douglas who were raised at Dalmahoy House and in London 6 Douglas was succeeded in the earldom by his first cousin George Sholto Douglas The barony of Douglas of Loch Leven became extinct on his death Freemasonry editLord Morton was a Scottish Freemason He was Initiated in Lodge Canongate Kilwinning No 2 on 30 November 1789 The source here cited states incorrectly that he was the 17th earl 7 Exactly one year later he was elected as Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland During his term in office there were several notable events one concerning politics It was declared by Grand Lodge on 1 August 1791 that difference of political sentiments was to be no bar to Masonic fellowship and that any Daughter Lodge guilty of excluding any Brother on that account merely would incur such censure as the Grand Lodge might at the time deem proper 8 See also editLord Morton s mare once thought to demonstrate telegony References edit Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 2002 PDF The Royal Society of Edinburgh July 2006 ISBN 0 902 198 84 X Archived from the original PDF on 24 January 2013 Retrieved 29 February 2016 Library and Archive Catalogue Royal Society Retrieved 28 November 2010 permanent dead link A quagga Douglas History Retrieved 13 December 2017 No 13329 The London Gazette 30 July 1791 p 432 The Gentleman s Magazine and Historical Chronicle periodical July to December 1827 Ewan Elizabeth L Innes Sue Reynolds Sian Pipes Rose 2007 Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press pp 97 98 ISBN 978 0748617135 History of the Lodge Canongate Kilwinning No 2 compiled from the records 1677 1888 By Alan MacKenzie 1888 p 243 The History of Freemasonry and Grand Lodge of Scotland By William A Lawrie Edinburgh 1859 p 146 Leigh Rayment s Peerage Pages self published source better source needed External links editLodge Canongate Kilwinning No 2 Edinburgh Masonic offices Preceded byThe Lord Napier Grand Master of theGrand Lodge of Scotland1790 1792 Succeeded byMarquess of Huntly Political offices Preceded byThe Earl of Ailesbury Lord Chamberlain to Queen Charlotte1792 1818 Succeeded byNone death of Queen Charlotte Preceded byThe Earl of Erroll Lord High Commissioner1819 1824 Succeeded byThe Lord Forbes Honorary titles Preceded byThe Earl of Crawford Lord Lieutenant of Fife1808 1824 Succeeded byThe Earl of Kellie Preceded byThe Marquess of Lothian Lord Lieutenant of Midlothian1824 1827 Succeeded byThe Duke of Buccleuch Peerage of Scotland Preceded bySholto Douglas nbsp Earl of Morton1774 1827 Succeeded byGeorge Douglas Peerage of Great Britain New creation Baron Douglas of Lochleven1791 1827 Extinct Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Douglas 16th Earl of Morton amp oldid 1219467215, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
