John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry
John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry GCVO (born July 20, 1844 in Florence , † January 31, 1900 in London ) was a Scottish nobleman .
Life
He came from the old Scottish noble family Douglas . His parents were Archibald Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry , and his wife, Caroline Margaret Clayton. When his father died on August 8, 1858, he inherited his title of nobility at the age of 14.
He was very interested in sports, as was his brother Francis Douglas , who had a fatal accident on the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865 . Above all, he was known as a promoter of boxing . The Queensberry Rules , named after him in 1867, are only sponsored by him, compiled by his friend John Graham Chambers . They are essentially the rules of modern boxing even today. Douglas was among the founders of the Amateur Athletic Club , the forerunner of the Amateur Athletic Association . He served in the army and in the navy.
In 1866 he married Sybil Montgomery († 1935), but this did not prevent him from pursuing other love affairs. The marriage had five children:
- Francis Archibald Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig (1867-1894)
- Percy Sholto Douglas, 10th Marquess of Queensberry (1868–1920)
- Alfred Bruce Douglas (1870-1945)
- Lord Sholto George Douglas (1872-1942)
- Lady Edith Gertrude Douglas (1874–1963) ⚭ George William Lane Fox-Pitt (1856–1932)
However, his relationship with his sons was very disturbed, and violent clashes continued. The marriage ended in divorce in 1887. Another marriage to Ethel Weeden was divorced in 1894 after only one year. The family was said to have "bad blood".
From 1872 to 1880 Douglas had a seat in the British House of Lords as the Scottish Representative Peer , but he lost it because he refused to take the prescribed religious oath due to his atheism .
Because of his divorces, militant atheism, and connections to the world of boxing, Douglas was unpopular in London society. In 1893 his eldest son Francis, Viscount Drumlanrig was raised to Baron Kelhead in the Peerage of the United Kingdom , which - unlike his father - automatically received a seat in the House of Lords. This led to a final break between father and son. When Francis died under suspicious circumstances in 1894, rumors arose that he had been killed by his own father. The fatal shot, officially considered a hunting accident, could also have been suicide. Francis was said to have had a homosexual relationship with Prime Minister Rosebery .
In 1990 the marquess was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame .
Libel suit by Oscar Wilde 1895
In 1895, Douglas provoked Oscar Wilde , who had a homosexual relationship with his third son, Lord Alfred Douglas , to a libel suit that led to catastrophic revelations about Wilde's private life, thereby causing his social and financial ruin. He died at the age of 55, the same year as Oscar Wilde.
literature
- Queensberry, John Sholto (Douglas) Marquess of . In: John Archibald Venn (Ed.): Alumni Cantabrigienses . A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900. Part 2: From 1752 to 1900 , Volume 5 : Pace – Spyers . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1953, pp. 226 ( venn.lib.cam.ac.uk Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
Web links
- John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry on thepeerage.com
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Archibald Douglas |
Marquess of Queensberry 1858-1900 |
Percy Douglas |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Douglas, John, 9th Marquess of Queensberry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Douglas, John Sholto, 9th Marquess of Queensberry |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish nobleman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 20, 1844 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Florence |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 31, 1900 |
| Place of death | London |