James Ludovic Lindsay
James Ludovic Lindsay (1847-1913)
1847 Born son of Alexander William Crawford Lindsay, twenty-fifth earl of Crawford and eighth earl of Balcarres (1812–1880), and his wife, Margaret, the eldest daughter of Lieutenant-General James Lindsay. [1]
1878 and 1879 He was elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society
1878 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society
1883 Elected honorary associate of the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences in 1883.
1913 Obituary [2]
JAMES LUDOVIC LINDSAY, 26th EARL OF CRAWFORD and 9th EARL OF BALCARRES, K.T., was born at St. Germain-en-Laye, France, on 28th July 1847, being the son of the 25th Earl, whom he succeeded in 1880.
He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he devoted himself to astronomy, and soon won distinction.
With the aid of his father, he built an observatory at Dunecht, Aberdeenshire, which, together with its equipment and valuable library of mathematical and astronomical works, he presented to the nation.
In 1878 and 1879 he (bearing the courtesy title of Lord Lindsay) was President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and in the former year was nominated as an Honorary Life Member of this Institution.
During part of 1905 and 1906 he made a scientific expedition in his steam-yacht "Valhalla" to South America, South Africa, Ceylon, and Madagascar, and brought back a collection of rare birds which he presented to the Zoological Society.
From 1874 to 1880 he was Member of Parliament for Wigan, where he owned valuable property, and it was at Haigh Hall, Wigan, that his magnificent library was housed.
For many years he was chairman of the Wigan Coal and Iron Co., and was president of the Wigan and District Chamber of Commerce.
Stamp-collecting was another pursuit in which he was greatly interested, and he formed one of the most valuable collections in England.
Lord Crawford and his predecessors had sat in Parliament since the beginning of the 12th century as peers, and in 1898 he celebrated the 500th anniversary of his Earldom. He was created a Knight of the Thistle in 1891; and was a Knight of Grace of St. John of Jerusalem, and a Commander of the Legion of Honour.
He had been in indifferent health for some time, and was accustomed to winter abroad. His death took place at his town house in Cavendish Square, on 31st January 1913, in his sixty-sixth year.
1913 Obituary [3]
JAMES LUDOVIC LINDSAY, EARL OF CRAWFORD, K.T., died on 31st January, 1913, at his town house in Cavendish Square, W.
In addition to holding the title of Earl of Crawford he was also Earl of Balcarres, Lord Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Balniel, and Baron Wigan. He sat in the House of Lords under the last-mentioned title, having represented Wigan in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1880, when he succeeded to the title of Earl of Crawford. He was the son of the 25th Earl of Crawford, and was born in 1847 at St. Germain-en-Laye, France.
He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, and at that time devoted considerable attention to astronomy. With his father he erected at Dunecht, Aberdeenshire, an observatory, which he later presented to the nation. He took great interest in electrical matters from the early days of electrical engineering and was a director of the London Electric Supply Corporation, being associated with the high-tension transmission for supplying electrical energy from Deptford to London.
He also played an important part in connection with the founding of the Electrical Standardizing, Testing, and Training Institution, better known as Faraday House, being Chairman of the Governors from 1890 until his death. Some of his early apparatus is still kept at Faraday House.
As Lord Lindsay he was one of the founders and original members of The Institution of Electrical Engineers, being appointed Vice-President, together with Mr. F. I. Scudamore, C.B., under the presidency of Sir William Siemens (at that time Mr. C. W. Siemens), when the Society of Telegraph Engineers was formed in 1871. The first Conversazione of the Society was held in his (Lord Lindsay's) laboratory in Greek Street, Soho, on 6th June, 1872, when he showed an electromagnet of large size, in fact the largest that had been made up to that time, a 20-in. induction coil, and various other scientific apparatus. He served in the capacity of Vice-President until 1874, and at the time of his death he was the oldest surviving officer of the Institution
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Biography of James Ludovic Lindsay, ODNB
- ↑ 1913 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituaries
- ↑ 1913 Institution of Electrical Engineers: Obituaries