Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner

Edward Priaulx Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner (31 May 1859 – 21 November 1920), known as Sir Edward Tennant, 2nd Baronet from 1906 to 1911, was a Scottish businessman and Liberal politician. In 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Glenconner.

Origins He was born on 31 May 1859, Tennant travelled extensively in Africa, India, and America, and was Assistant Private Secretary to Sir George Otto Trevelyan, Secretary for Scotland, from 1892 to 1895. He was unsuccessful parliamentary candidate for Partick in 1892 and for Peebles and Selkirk in 1900.

He was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament for Salisbury at the 1906 general election, holding the seat until the 1910 general election. He succeeded his father to the baronetcy in 1906, and in 1911 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Glenconner, of The Glen in the County of Peebles. Lord Glenconner was also Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914, and served as Lord Lieutenant of Peeblesshire from 1908 to 1920.

Between 1883 and 1886 he travelled in South Africa and on the American continent, later visiting India and the Far East. In 1900 he contested Peebles and Selkirk (unsuccessfully), being defeated by sitting member Sir Walter Thorburn. Between 1911 and 1914 he served as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which duty he carried out "with dignity, tact and courtesy, making him notable among the line of holders".

Other roles Chairman of the Union Bank of Scotland. Head of the great chemical works of Glasgow (at St Rollox), Tharsis Sulphur and Copper Company, The family fortunes were laid by his father when he turned to weaving and bleaching and became connected with the great St Rollox chemical works, at Glasgow.

Philanthropy In 1914 he presented to the Corporation of Glasgow 13 acres of land in the St Rollox district as a suitable recreation ground for that part of the city. In 1910 he remodelled his London house at 34 Queen Anne's Gate, including an art gallery to house his inherited art collection, and included a separate entrance for the public who were allowed to view the artworks on certain days of the week, which action was "widely appreciated and used".

Marriage and issue

In 1895 he married Pamela Wyndham, a writer and a sister of George Wyndham, by whom he had several children, including: Hon. Clarissa "Clare" Madeline Georgiana Felicite Tennant (1896–1960) Hon. Edward Wyndham Tennant (1897–1916), a war poet Christopher Grey Tennant, 2nd Baron Glenconner (1899–1983), second and eldest surviving son and heir. His son was Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, who developed the Caribbean island of Mustique; his daughter was the writer Emma Tennant Hon. David Pax Tennant (1902–1968), founder of the Gargoyle Club in Soho, London, who married Hermione Baddeley; his daughter was Pauline Tennant Hon. Stephen James Napier Tennant (1906–1987)

Death and succession He died on 21 November 1920, from heart failure, 10 days after an operation from which he seemed to have rallied. He was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and his ashes were buried at Traquair, Peeblesshire. He was succeeded in the peerage by his second and eldest surviving son, the Hon. Christopher Tennant.