Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore

"Charlie". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1878.

Lord Dunmore, c. 1903

Lord Dunmore c. 1893, in the Pamir Mountains

Charles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore VD (24 March 1841 – 27 August 1907), styled Viscount Fincastle from birth until 1845, was a Scottish peer, Conservative politician, explorer, author, and artist.

Early life

Fincastle was the eldest son of Alexander Murray, 6th Earl of Dunmore and his wife, Catherine. His maternal grandmother was the Russian noblewoman Countess Catherine Woronzoff (or Vorontsova), daughter of the Russian ambassador to St James's, Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov.

He was born in London on March 24, 1841; and on July 16, 1845 he succeeded his father as Earl. He received his education at Eton College.

Career

He traveled to North America to observe the American Civil War with a number of other British officers. He then traveled at least as far as southern Manitoba and painted a number of watercolors across the United States and Canada.

In 1874, he was appointed a Lord-in-waiting in Disraeli's government, a post he held until 1880.

In 1875, he was made Lord Lieutenant of Stirlingshire, which he remained until 1885. In 1882 he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Inverness-shire Rifle Volunteers (later the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders). He retired in 1896.

In 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway named Dunmore, Alberta in his honour.

In 1892–93 he traveled through the eastern Pamirs to Kashgar. He was engaged in some form of diplomacy or espionage but the matter is not clear.

Family

Lord Dunmore married Lady Gertrude Coke, third daughter of Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, on 5 April 1866. They had six children:

• Alexander Edward, styled Viscount Fincastle, later 8th Earl of Dunmore (1871–1962)
• Lady Evelyn Cobbold (1867–1963), married John Dupuis Cobbold.
• Lady Muriel (d. 1946), married Harold Gore Browne.
• Lady Grace (1873–1960), married William James Barry, Esq.
• Lady Victoria Alexandrina (1877–1925)
• Lady Mildred (1878–1969), married (1) Gilbert Burrell Spencer Follett, (2) Sir John FitzGerald, 3rd Baronet.

Works

• The Pamirs: Being a Narrative of a Year's Expedition on Horseback and on Foot Through Kashmir, Western Tibet, Chinese Tartary, and Russian Central Asia. J. Murray. 1894.
• The Revelation of Christianus and Other Christian Science Poems. University Press. 1901.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

References

• Fryer, Sydney Ernest (1912). "Murray, Charles Adolphus" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• S. E. Fryer, rev. Elizabeth Baigent. "Murray, Charles Adolphus, seventh earl of Dunmore (1841–1907)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35156. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Middleton, Robert; Thomas, Huw; Whitlock, Monica (2011). Tajikistan and the High Pamirs: A Companion and Guide. Odyssey Publications. ISBN 978-962-217-818-2.
• Rees, Ronald (1984). Land of earth and sky : landscape painting of Western Canada. Saskatoon: Western Producer Prairie Books.
• Sanders, Harry Max (2003). The story behind Alberta names. Calgary: Red Deer Press. ISBN 978-0-88995-256-0.

External links

• Works by or about Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore at Internet Archive
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Dunmore
• Longyear Museum (Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore) connection with Christian Science