George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie
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George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie (October 23 1770 – March 21 1838) was lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia from 1816 to 1820, Governor General of British North America from 1820 to 1828 and later became commander-in-chief in India.
George Ramsay was one of Wellington's generals and fought at the Battle of Waterloo. While serving as lieutenant-governor he founded Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The 9th earl was in 1815 created Baron Dalhousie in the peerage of the United Kingdom. He married Christina Broun of Coalstoun, a lady of gentle extraction and distinguished gifts, with whom he had three sons, the two elder of whom died early. His youngest son was James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 10th Earl of Dalhousie.
Lineage
The Ramsays of Dalhousie (or Dalwolsie) in Midlothian were a branch of the main line of Scottish Ramsays, of whom the earliest known is Simon de Ramsay, of Huntingdon, England, mentioned in 1140 as the grantee of lands in West Lothian at the hands of David I. A Sir William de Ramsay of Dalhousie swore fealty to Edward I in 1296, but is famous for having in 1320 signed the letter to the pope asserting the independence of Scotland; and his supposed son, Sir Alexander Ramsay (d. 1342), was the Scottish patriot and capturer of Roxburgh Castle (1342), who, having been made warder of the castle and sheriff of Teviotdale by David II, was soon afterwards carried off and starved to death by his predecessor, the Douglas, in revenge. Sir John Ramsay of Dalhousie (1580-1626), James VI's favorite, is famous for rescuing the king in the Gowrie conspiracy, and was created (1606) Viscount Haddington and Lord Ramsay of Barns (subsequently baron of Kingston and earl of Holderness in England). The barony of Ramsay of Melrose was granted in 1618 to his brother George Ramsay of Dalhousie (d. 1629), whose son William Ramsay (d. 1674) was made 1st earl of Dalhousie in 1633.
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=37747)
| Preceded by: George Stracey Smith | Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia 1816–1820 | Succeeded by: Sir James Kempt | |||
| Preceded by: The Duke of Richmond | Governor General of British North America 1820–1828 | Succeeded by: Sir James Kempt | |||
| Preceded by: The Viscount Combermere | Commander-in-Chief, India 1830–1832 | Succeeded by: Sir Edward Barnes
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