Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton

His Grace The Duke of Hamilton
The 10th Duke of Hamilton, by Henry Raeburn
Born	3 October 1767 St. James Square, London
Died	18 August 1852 (aged 84) 12 Portman Square, London
Resting place	Bent Cemetery, Hamilton
Title	10th Duke of Hamilton
Tenure	1819–1852
Other titles	7th Duke of Brandon
Offices	Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire
Predecessor	Archibald Hamilton
Successor	William Hamilton
Spouse(s)	Susan Euphemia Beckford
Issue	William Hamilton Susan Hamilton
Parents	Archibald Hamilton Harriet Stewart

Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton, 7th Duke of Brandon KG PC FRS FSA (3 October 1767 – 18 August 1852) was a Scottish politician and art collector.^[1]

Life

Born on 3 October 1767 at St. James's Square, London, a son of Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton, he was educated at Harrow School and at Christ Church, Oxford.

Hamilton was a Whig, and his political career began in 1802, when he became MP for Lancaster. He remained in the House of Commons until 1806, when he was appointed to the Privy Council, and Ambassador to the court of St. Petersburg until 1807; additionally, he was Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire from 1802 to 1852. He received the numerous titles at his father's death in 1819. He was Lord High Steward at King William IV's coronation in 1831 and Queen Victoria's coronation in 1838, and remains the last person to have undertaken this duty twice. He became a Knight of the Garter in 1836. He held the office of Grand Master of the Freemasons [Scotland] between 1820 and 1822. He held the office of President of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland between 1827 and 1831. He held the office of Trustee of the British Museum between 1834 and 1852.

Alexander Hamilton at age 15, in a painting by Joshua Reynolds.

He married Susan Euphemia Beckford, daughter of William Thomas Beckford^[2] and Lady Margaret Gordon-daughter of Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboyne, on 26 April 1810 in London, England.

Beckford was the son of a Lord Mayor of London, William Beckford and his wife Maria Hamilton, who like the 10th Duke was a descendant of James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault.

Hamilton was a well-known dandy of his day. An obituary notice states that "timidity and variableness of temperament prevented his rendering much service to, or being much relied on by his party ... With a great predisposition to over-estimate the importance of ancient birth ... he well deserved to be considered the proudest man in England." He also supported Napoleon and commissioned the painting The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques-Louis David.

Lord Lamington, in The Days of the Dandies, wrote of him that 'never was such a magnifico as the 10th Duke, the Ambassador to the Empress Catherine; when I knew him he was very old, but held himself straight as any grenadier. He was always dressed in a military laced undress coat, tights and Hessian boots, &c'. Lady Stafford in letters to her son mentioned 'his great Coat, long Queue, and Fingers cover'd with gold Rings', and his foreign appearance. According to another obituary, this time in Gentleman's Magazine he had 'an intense family pride'.

Death and legacy

Hamilton had a strong interest in Ancient Egyptian mummies, and was so impressed with the work of mummy expert Thomas Pettigrew that he arranged for Pettigrew to mummify him after his death. He died on 18 August 1852 at age 84 at 12 Portman Square, London, England and was buried on 4 September 1852 at Hamilton Palace, Hamilton, Scotland. In accordance with his wishes, Hamilton's body was mummified after his death and placed in a sarcophagus of the Ptolemaic period that he had originally acquired in Paris in 1836 ostensibly for the British Museum. At the same time he had acquired the sarcophagus of Pabasa, an important noblemen which is now in the Kelvingrove Museum. In 1842 Hamilton had begun construction of the Hamilton Mausoleum as repository for the overcrowded family vault at the Palace. He was interred there with other Dukes of Hamilton, from the 1858 completion of the Mausoleum until 1921 when subsidence and the subsequent demolition of the Palace forced removal of the bodies to the Bent cemetery in Hamilton, where he still lies buried in his sarcophagus.^[3][4]

His collection of paintings, objects, books and manuscripts was sold for £397,562 in July 1882. The manuscripts were purchased by the German government for £80,000. Some were repurchased by the British government and are now in the British Museum.

Marriage and issue

By his wife, Susan Beckford, Hamilton had one son and one daughter:

• William Hamilton, 11th Duke of Hamilton, who married Princess Marie Amelie of Baden
• Lady Susan Harriet Catherine Hamilton, who married 1st, Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle; 2nd, Jean Alexis Op de Beeck.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton

16. William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk               8. James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton                       17. Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton               4. James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton                             18. Digby Gerard, 5th Baron Gerard               9. The Hon. Elizabeth Gerard                       19. Lady Elizabeth Gerard               2. Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton                                   20. John Spencer               10. Edward Spencer                       21. Anne Rivett               5. Anne Spencer                             11. Anne Baker                       1. Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton                                         24. Alexander Stewart, 3rd Earl of Galloway               12. James Stewart, 5th Earl of Galloway                       25. Lady Mary Douglas               6. Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway                             26. Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton               13. Lady Catherine Montgomerie                       27. Margaret Cochrane               3. Lady Harriet Stewart                                   28. John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundonald               14. John Cochrane, 4th Earl of Dundonald                       29. Lady Susannah Hamilton               7. Lady Catherine Cochrane                             30. Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore               15. Lady Anne Murray                       31. Catherine Watts

References

1. "Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland and one of the greatest collectors in the history of Scotland". National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
2. NTS plans £8m overhaul of Brodick castle
3. RCAHMS reconstruction of Hamilton Palace
4. Gazetteer for Scotland- Bent cemetery

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Hamilton
• Portrait
• The Peerage.com
• Genealogics.org