John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair

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John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair

John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair KT PC (born July 20, 1673 in Edinburgh , Scotland , † May 9, 1747 ibid) was a Scottish-British field marshal and diplomat.

Military career

Although born in Edinburgh as the eldest son of John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair and Elizabeth Dundas, John Dalrymple spent his earlier years mainly in the Netherlands and studied at Leiden University . When in 1689 William III. When he became King of Scotland , he returned home. When his father died in 1707 he inherited him as 2nd Earl of Stair and was elected as Representative Peer in the House of Lords of the newly formed Parliament of Great Britain in the same year .

Dalrymple commanded a brigade in the War of Spanish Succession during the siege of Lille and then at the Battle of Malplaquet . He became an assistant to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and, in 1709, was sent to Poland as envoy to Augustus II . In 1712 he was promoted to general for his military successes.

Diplomatic career

When George I ascended the throne, Dalrymple was sent to Paris as envoy . According to the Duc de Saint-Simon , his time as ambassador got off to a bad start, as Louis XIV instantly disliked him and refused to meet him or let his ministers meet him. Stair, in view of the king's age and poor health, waited for the situation to turn and after Louis's death, friendly relations with the new regime quickly established, which paved the way for the Triple Alliance between Holland , France and Great Britain . For five years, in the 1710s, his spies effectively prevented various "intrigues" by the Jacobites . In 1729 he became Vice Admiral of Scotland, but lost the position again in 1733, largely because of his opposition to the Excise Bill of 1733 supported by Prime Minister Robert Walpole . However, when Walpole left office in 1742, Dalrymple was promoted to field marshal and commanded the Pragmatic Army , which was sent to assist the Hanoverian and Austrian troops in their struggle for Maria Theresa and the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 in the War of Austrian Succession . He led the allies to victory in the Battle of Dettingen .

He was the colonel of various units, including the "Gray Dragoons" (today's Royal Scots Grays ).

character

Winston Churchill called him one of Britain's most capable ambassadors ever to be sent to Paris. Duke Saint-Simon, who knew Stair personally, described him as a man of great ability and intelligence, but treacherous, devious, implausible and arrogant.

family

He married Lady Eleanor Campbell, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Loudon , but had no children. He decreed that after his death his earldom should go to his nephew John Dalrymple († 1789), the son of his brother George Dalrymple († 1744), but the House of Lords ruled that the right to appoint an heir was extinguished be. Thus, the Earldom went to the legal heir, his nephew James Dalrymple as 3rd Earl of Stair, a son of his brother William Dalrymple († 1744). After the death of James Dalrymple in 1760 and his brother William Dalrymple-Crichton in 1768, the Earldom finally fell to John Dalrymple as the 5th Earl of Stair.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Web links

predecessor Office successor
John Dalrymple Earl of Stair
1707-1747 		James Dalrymple
personal data
SURNAME Dalrymple, John, 2nd Earl of Stair
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stair, John Dalrymple (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish-British officer and diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH July 20, 1673
PLACE OF BIRTH Edinburgh , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1747
Place of death Edinburgh , Scotland