Earl of Abercorn
| Dukedom of Abercorn | |
|---|---|
Quarterly 1st & 4th: Gules, three cinquefoils pierced ermine (Hamilton); 2nd & 3rd: Argent, an ancient ship or lymphad with one mast the sails furled and oars out sable (Arran).
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| Creation date | 10 August 1868 |
| Monarch | Victoria |
| Peerage | Peerage of Ireland |
| First holder | James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn |
| Present holder | James Hamilton, 5th Duke |
| Heir apparent | James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton |
| Remainder to | The 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten |
| Subsidiary titles | Marquess of Abercorn Marquess of Hamilton Earl of Abercorn Viscount Strabane Viscount Hamilton Lord Paisley Lord of Abercorn Lord of Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell and Kilpatrick Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane Baron Mountcastle Baronet Hamilton of Dunalong |
| Seat(s) | Baronscourt |
| Armorial motto | Sola Nobilitas Virtus ("Virtue is the only nobility") |
The title Duke of Abercorn /ˈævəkɔːn/ is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn.
This article also covers the Earls and Marquesses of Abercorn, all named after Abercorn, West Lothian, in Scotland.
In acknowledgement of his loyalty, James VI of Scotland (James I of England), conferred on the Hon. Claud Hamilton, third son of James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, the title Lord Paisley. His son James Hamilton was created Lord Abercorn on 5 April 1603, then on 10 July 1606 he was made Earl of Abercorn and Lord of Paisley, Hamilton, Mountcastell and Kilpatrick, all in the Peerage of Scotland.
His successor, the 2nd Earl of Abercorn, was additionally created Lord Hamilton, Baron of Strabane, in the Peerage of Ireland, on 8 May 1617. He resigned this dignity to his younger brother in 1633; the brother's heirs inherited the Earldom and other titles in 1680, in the person of Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn. He was attainted in Ireland in 1691, and the Barony of Strabane forfeited, but his brother Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Abercorn, obtained a reversal of the attainder and recovered in 1692.
The 6th earl was at his accession an Irish baronet, "of Dunalong in the County of Tyrone, and of Nenagh in the County of Tipperary" (1660). He was additionally created Baron Mountcastle and Viscount Strabane, in the Peerage of Ireland, on 2 September 1701. The 7th earl became the first of the Earls of Abercorn to be invested a Privy Counsellor, having been appointed to both the English and Irish Privy Councils. The 8th earl was created Viscount Hamilton, of Hamilton, in the Peerage of Great Britain on 24 August 1786. He was succeeded by his nephew, who was created Marquess of Abercorn in the Peerage of Great Britain on 15 October 1790, after having sat in the House of Commons as MP for East Looe and for St Germans. He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1805.
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