James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, KT, PRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish astronomer and representative peer who was President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death.[1] He also became President of the Royal Society (24 March 1764), and was a distinguished patron of science, and particularly of astronomy.

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton, portrait with his family by Jeremiah Davison, 1740

He graduated MA from King's College, Cambridge in 1722.[2][3] In 1746 he visited France, and was imprisoned in the Bastille, probably as a Jacobite.[4] He had a long lasting tendency to protest the actions of the British government.

Legacy

Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia was named after Lord Morton by Lieutenant James Cook (the spelling being an error in the published account of Cook's voyage in HMS Endeavour). Lord Morton had been influential in obtaining a grant of £4,000 to finance the voyage.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Emerson, Roger L. (1985). "The Philosophical Society of Edinburgh 1768–1783". The British Journal for the History of Science. Cambridge University Press. 18 (3): 255. doi:10.1017/s0007087400022391.
  2. ↑ Anita Guerrini, 'Douglas, James, fourteenth earl of Morton (1702–1768)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005. Retrieved 26 August 2008. So also the original DNB
  3. ↑ "Douglas, James (DGLS720J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ↑  "Douglas, James (1702-1768)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  5. ↑ "Moreton Bay (entry 22810)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
Masonic offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Kintore		 Grand Master of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland
1739–1740		 Succeeded by
The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Grand Master of the
Premier Grand Lodge of England
1741–1742		 Succeeded by
The Lord Ward
Political offices
Preceded by
Alexander Hume Campbell		 Lord Clerk Register
1760–1768		 Succeeded by
Lord Frederick Campbell
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
George Douglas
Earl of Morton
1738–1768		 Succeeded by
Sholto Douglas

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