Claud John Hamilton

Claud John Hamilton, caricature by Leslie Ward published in Vanity Fair (1878)

Lord Claud John Hamilton (born February 20, 1843 in Stanmore Priory , † January 26, 1925 in London ) was a Scottish nobleman and politician .

Origin and family environment

Claud John Hamilton came from the Hamilton clan , an influential family of the Scottish nobility who played an important role in Scottish history since the 13th century. He was born the second son of James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn (1811-1885) and the Lady Louisa Jane Russell (1812-1905). As the second son, he could not inherit the title of his father, but, like all subsequent sons of Dukes, carried the courtesy title of Lord in front of his name.

Was married to Carline Chandos-Pole (1853-1911) since July 20, 1878. The marriage produced a son and a daughter. His younger brother, George Francis Hamilton, was also a politician and a long-time member of the House of Commons .

Political and professional career

Lord Claud John was first politically active as High Sheriff of Great Yarmouth and Harwich . He was then elected as a member of the British House of Commons , to which he was a member from 1865 to 1918 with an interruption from 1888 to 1910. During this time he became 2nd Lord of the Treasury and a member of the Privy Council . He was also a colonel aide-de-camp with Queen Victoria .

From the beginning of the 1870s, Hamilton was professionally engaged in the railway sector. In 1872 he became a member of the board of directors of the Great Eastern Railway (GER), two years later he became its deputy chairman. From 1893 to the end of GER in 1922 as a result of its merger in the London and North Eastern Railway under the Railways Act 1921 , he was chairman of the board. During his tenure, he particularly ensured the expansion of traffic to the important Harwich ferry port , from which Great Eastern ships served the traffic to Hoek van Holland and Zeebrugge . He also managed to get the Royal Mail to use GER ships for mail to the Netherlands. The GER named the first locomotive of the GER class S46 with a 2'B wheel arrangement , which was procured from 1900, after him. A total of 121 locomotives in three, slightly different classes were procured according to this model. They proved to be very successful and were nicknamed "Clauds" or "Claud Hamiltons" by the GER railroad workers . The last copies were withdrawn from British Railways in 1960.

Pedigree

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility (=  Princely Houses . Volume 2 ). Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn, p. 166 .
2. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility (=  Princely Houses . Volume 2 ). Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn, p. 169 .
3. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility (=  Princely Houses . Volume 2 ). Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn, p. 168 .
4. ^ Observer in The Observer , Adelaide, January 31, 1925 , retrieved February 18, 2019
5. ↑ LNER Encyclopedia: The Holden 'Claud Hamilton' Class D14, D15, & D16 4-4-0 Locomotives , accessed February 18, 2019