John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl

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His Grace
The Duke of Atholl
KT PC FRS
Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire
In office
1796–1830
Monarchs
Preceded byNew office
Succeeded byThe Earl of Kinnoull
Personal details
Born(1755-06-30)30 June 1755
Died29 September 1830(1830-09-29) (aged 75)
Dunkeld, Perthshire, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Spouses
  • Hon. Jane Cathcart
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1774; died 1790)​
  • Hon. Margery Forbes
    ​
    (m. 1794)​
Children10, including John, 5th Duke of Atholl, and James, 1st Baron Glenlyon
Parents

John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, KT, PC, FRS (30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830), styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1764 to 1774, was a Scottish peer.

Life and career[edit]

The Duke of Atholl, and his game keeper John Crerar. (Edwin Henry Landseer)

Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and his wife, Charlotte, 8th Baroness Strange, daughter of James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl. Lord George Murray and Lord Charles Murray-Aynsley were his younger brothers. He became known by the courtesy title Marquess of Tullibardine when his father succeeded to the dukedom in 1764.[1]

Murray succeeded his father as fourth Duke of Atholl in 1774 and was elected a Scottish representative peer.[1][2] In 1786 he was created Baron Murray, of Stanley in the County of Gloucester, and Earl Strange in the Peerage of Great Britain,[3] which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He later served as Lord-Lieutenant of Perthshire from 1794 to 1830[1] and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1797.[1][4] In 1800 he was made a Knight of the Thistle.[1][5] In 1793 he was appointed Captain-General and Governor in Chief of the Isle of Man, his mother making over to him most of her rights in the Island.[6] He succeeded his mother in the barony of Strange in 1805. He was also Grand Master of the Antient Grand Lodge of England from 1775 until 1781 and again from 1791 until 1812.

During his control of the Blair Estate he planted over 20 million trees over an area of 16,000 acres, using cannon filled with seed to spread seed over the high hills. He earned himself the nickname "The Planting Duke".[7]

He introduced Japanese Larch into Britain, planting the trees at Dunkeld, where they hybridized with the first European Larch in Britain, planted by his uncle, the second duke, and gave rise to the Dunkeld Larch.[8] In 1796-97 he planted pine and larch around the Falls of Bruar as a tribute to the recently deceased Robert Burns, responding to his poem The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Atholl (1787).[9] The Duke wrote "Observations on Larch" in 1807 encouraging further its cultivation, which he practiced on a large scale.[10]

Atholl died in September 1830, aged 75, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John. The Duchess of Atholl died in October 1842, aged 81.[1] Athol, Nova Scotia is named after him.

Family[edit]

Atholl married the Honourable Jane Cathcart (24 May 1754 – 26 December 1790), daughter of Jane Cathcart and Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart, on 26 December 1774. They had eight children:

  • Lady Charlotte Murray (1775–1832) married 1st Sir John Menzies of Castle Menzies, 4th Baronet and 2nd Admiral Sir Adam Drummond KCH, 7th of Megginch (great-grandparents of John Drummond, 15th Baron Strange)
  • John Murray, 5th Duke of Atholl (26 June 1778 – 14 September 1846)[1]
  • James Murray, 1st Baron Glenlyon (29 May 1782 – 12 October 1837); married Emily Frances Percy and had four children, including the 6th Duke.
  • Lord Edward Murray (11 September 1783 – 19 March 1795).
  • Lord Robert Murray (13 March 1785 – 5 February 1793).
  • Lord Frederick Murray (13 October 1788 – 11 April 1789).
  • Lady Amelia Sophia Murray
  • Lady Elizabeth Murray

After his first wife's death in 1790 he married Marjory, daughter of James Forbes, 16th Lord Forbes, and Catherine Innes and widow of John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod, on 11 March 1794. They had two children:

Ancestry[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g thepeerage.com Sir John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl
  2. ^ leighrayment.com Representative Peers - Scotland[usurped]
  3. ^ "No. 12775". The London Gazette. 5 August 1786. p. 351.
  4. ^ leighrayment.com Privy Counsellors 1679-1835[usurped]
  5. ^ leighrayment.com Knights of the Thistle[usurped]
  6. ^ Train, Joseph (1845), History of the Isle of Man, 1, p. 250
  7. ^ Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.11
  8. ^ http://www.dunkeldandbirnam.org.uk/component/sobipro/3330-Grounds-of-Dunkeld-Hilton-House?Itemid=0 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine; wrongly given as the 7th duke
  9. ^ Dingwall, Christopher (1994), Gardens in the Wild, Garden History 22, 2, p. 151
  10. ^ The Philosophical Magazine and Journal, Vol. 53, 1819
  11. ^ thepeerage.com Lord Charles Murray
  12. ^ Millingen, Julius (1831). Memoirs of the Affairs of Greece. London: John Rodwell. pp. 182–183.

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Duke of Atholl

Honorary titles
New office Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire
1794–1830 		Succeeded by
Masonic offices
Preceded by Grand Master of the
Antient Grand Lodge of England
1775–1781 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland
1778–1780 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Grand Master of the
Antient Grand Lodge of England
1791–1812 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Duke of Atholl
1774–1830 		Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Earl Strange
1786–1830 		Succeeded by
Peerage of England
Preceded by Baron Strange
4th creation
1805–1830 		Succeeded by
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