Sir Archibald Macdonald, 1st Baronet (13 July 1747 – 18 May 1826) was a Scottish-born English lawyer, judge and politician.
Sir Alexander Macdonald | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Macdonald, by George Romney, c. 1793-1795 | |
| Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer | |
| In office 1793–1813 | |
| Preceded by | Sir James Eyre |
| Succeeded by | Sir Vicary Gibbs |
| Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme | |
| In office 1780–1793 | |
| Preceded by | Viscount Chewton Viscount Trentham |
| Succeeded by | Sir Francis Ford William Egerton |
| Member of Parliament for Hindon | |
| In office 1777–1780 Serving with Henry Dawkins | |
| Preceded by | Richard Smith Henry Dawkins |
| Succeeded by | Lloyd Kenyon Nathaniel William Wraxall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 July 1747 Armadale Castle, Skye |
| Died | 18 May 1826 (aged 78) |
| Spouse |
Lady Louisa Leveson-Gower
(m. 1777; died 1826) |
| Relations | Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald (brother) Alexander Macdonald, 2nd Baron Macdonald (nephew) Godfrey Macdonald, 3rd Baron Macdonald (nephew) Sir James Macdonald, 6th Baronet (grandfather) |
| Children | Sir James Macdonald, 2nd Baronet |
| Education | Westminster School |
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Early life
editMacdonald was born at Armadale Castle on Skye on 13 July 1747, the posthumous son of Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet, and his second wife, Lady Margaret Montgomerie. His elder brothers included Sir James Macdonald, 8th Baronet and Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald.[1]
His paternal grandparents were Sir James Macdonald, 6th Baronet and the former Janet Macleod (a daughter of Alasdair MacLeod, 2nd of Grishornish). His maternal grandparents were Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton, and Susanna Kennedy (a daughter of Sir Archibald Kennedy, 1st Baronet).[1]
He was brought to England, away from Jacobite influence and entered Westminster School in 1760. He went on to Christ Church, Oxford in 1764, graduating B.A. in 1768 and M.A. in 1772. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1770.[2]
Career
editMacdonald was Member of Parliament for Hindon in Wiltshire, from 1777 until 1780, and then for Newcastle-under-Lyme, from 1780 to 1792, a seat where his father-in-law had a strong influence.[2]
In politics, Macdonald followed the Whig lead of his father-in-law. He became solicitor-general in 1784 and attorney-general, and was knighted, in 1788. He served as the prosecutor in Thomas Paine's criminal libel trial over the publication of Rights of Man in 1792.[2][3]
The 1792 Slave Trade Bill passed the House of Commons; mangled and mutilated by the modifications and amendments of Pitt, Earl of Mornington, Edward James Eliot and MacDonald, it lay for years, in the House of Lords.[4][5]
Judicial career
editMacdonald was appointed as second judge of the Carmarthen circuit in Wales in 1780. He was promoted as Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1793, and served in this post until he retired in 1813, with failing eyesight.[2] On his retirement from the court, Macdonald was created 1st Baronet Macdonald, of East Sheen, in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom, on 27 November 1813.[6]
Personal life
edit
On 26 November 1777, Macdonald married Lady Louisa Leveson-Gower (1757–1827), daughter of Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford (at the time called by the courtesy title Earl Gower), then Lord President of the Council,[7] and the former Lady Louisa Egerton (a daughter of the 1st Duke of Bridgwater). Together, they were the parents of two sons and five daughters,[2] of which three survived:[6]
- Susan Macdonald (1780–1803), who was the illustrator of "The Sports of the Genii" (1804) by Anne Hunter.[8]
- Sir James Macdonald, 2nd Baronet (1784–1832), who married three times, including to Lady Sophia Keppel, a daughter of William Keppel, 4th Earl of Albemarle.[2]
- Caroline Diana Macdonald (1790–1867), who married the cleric Thomas Randolph, son of The Rt. Rev. John Randolph.[1]
Sir Archibald died on 18 May 1826. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son, James.[1]
Descendants
editThrough his youngest daughter Caroline, he was a grandfather of the naval officer George Granville Randolph.[2][9][10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, pps. 450-451.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lemmings, David. "Macdonald, Sir Archibald, first baronet (1747–1826)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17429. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Smith, George Ford (8 June 2010). "Thomas Paine, Liberty's Hated Torchbearer". Mises Institute. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "Parliamentary History". Corbett. 1817. p. 1293.
- ^ "Journal of the House of Lords". H.M. Stationery Office 1790. 1790. p. 391 to 738.
- ^ a b "Macdonald, Sir Archibald (1747–1826), of East Sheen, Surr., History of Parliament Online". Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- ^ Sharpe, John (1830). Sharpe's Peerage of the British Empire exhibiting its present state and deducing the existing descents from the ancient nobility of England, Scotland and Ireland. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1893). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 35. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ s:Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886/Randolph, Thomas (3)
- ^ Lambert, Andrew. "Randolph, Sir George Granville". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35670. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Dod, Charles Roger; Dod, Robert Phipps (1904). Dod's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, Including All the Titled Classes. p. 754.
- ^ The Gentleman's Magazine. E. Cave. 1813. p. 586.