John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie

John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland in William Ewart Gladstone's short-lived 1886 administration.

Early life Dalhousie was born at Aberdour House at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire on 29 January 1847. He was the eldest son of Admiral George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie, and Sarah Frances, daughter of William Robertson of Logan House. The Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay, MP for Forfarshire, was his younger brother. He gained the courtesy title of Lord Ramsay in 1874 when his father succeeded in the earldom of Dalhousie on the death of his first cousin, Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie.

His paternal grandfather was The Hon. John Ramsay (the fourth son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie).

After attending Charterhouse School, he matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford in 1875.

Career Dalhousie followed his father into the Royal Navy, where he served from 1861 to 1879, achieving the rank of Commander. He was Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh between 1874 and 1876 and an Extra Equerry between 1876 and 1880.

Political career "Liverpool". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1880. Dalhousie was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Liverpool in March 1880, but was forced to resign in July 1880 after succeeding his father in the earldom. After taking his seat in the House of Lords he was appointed a Lord-in-waiting in September 1880 by William Ewart Gladstone, a position he held until the government fell in 1885.

In April 1886 he succeeded George Trevelyan (who had resigned over Irish Home Rule) as Secretary for Scotland in Gladstone's short-lived 1886 administration, although in contrast to Trevelyan he was not a member of the cabinet. He was sworn of the Privy Council at the same time. He retained this post until the government fell in July 1886. He was made a Knight of the Thistle in 1881.

Personal life

On 6 December 1877, Lord Dalhousie was married to Lady Ida Louisa Bennet. She was a daughter of Charles Bennet, 6th Earl of Tankerville and Olivia Bennet, Countess of Tankerville (eldest daughter of George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester). She appeared in 'The World's Beauties' trading card series by cigarette producers Allen & Ginter. Together, Lord and Lady Dalhousie had five sons:

He owned 138,000 acres in Scotland.