The Earl of Perth KT PC |
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The 4th Earl of Perth.
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Lord Chancellor of Scotland | |
In office 1684–1688 |
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Monarch | James VII |
Preceded by | The Earl of Aberdeen |
Succeeded by | The Earl of Tweeddale |
Personal details | |
Born | 1648 Kingdom of Scotland |
Died | 11 May 1716 (aged 68) St Germain, Kingdom of France |
Parents | James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth and his wife, Lady Anne, daughter of George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly |
Alma mater | University of St Andrews |
Religion |
Roman Catholicism (1685-1716) Church of England (1648-1685) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | House of Stuart |
Battles/wars | Glorious Revolution |
James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth KT PC (1648 – 11 May 1716), also 4th Earl of Perth and 7th Lord Drummond, was a Scottish statesman, and Jacobite.
The eldest son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth by his spouse Lady Anne, daughter of George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly, he was educated at the University of St Andrews, and succeeded his father 2 June, and was served heir to him 1 October 1675.
In 1678 he was appointed a member of the Scottish Privy Council and supported Lauderdale's policy of giving up the disaffected western shires of Scotland to highland raids, before joining Hamilton's faction. He was appointed Lord Justice General in 1682 and an Extraordinary Lord of Session on 16 November the same year. He introduced the use of the thumbscrew in Scotland. He was also Lord Chancellor of Scotland, 1684 - 1688.
He was a partner with William Penn in the settlement of East New Jersey in 1681. As one of 24 proprietors of a large parcel of property that took up much of what is now the State of New Jersey, Perth sponsored an expedition in 1684 to establish a settlement there. The City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, which sits on the waterfront facing Staten Island, New York, and which was once a port city in its own right, is named in his honor — a statue of Lord Perth stands in front of City Hall (the "Amboy" comes from an Algonquian word meaning "valley").