William Gibson-Craig

Sir William Gibson Craig, 2nd Baronet, PC, FRSE (2 August 1797 – 12 March 1878), was a Scottish advocate and politician, who held the important position of Lord Clerk Register for Scotland.

The Right Honourable
Sir William Gibson Craig
Portrait by Henry Raeburn
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh
In office
1841–1852
Member of Parliament for Midlothian
In office
1837–1841
Personal details
Born2 August 1797
Died12 March 1878 (aged 82)
Political partyWhig
ProfessionAdvocate, Politician

Life

He was born the first son of Sir James Gibson-Craig, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Anne Thomson. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh and then privately in Yorkshire.[1]

William became an advocate in 1820. He became a member of the Highland Society in 1824. In 1828 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposer being Thomas Allan.

He was the Member of Parliament for Midlothian representing the Whig party from 1837 to 1841 and for Edinburgh from 1841 to 1852. He was a Junior Lord of the Treasury in Lord John Russell's government from 1846 to 1852.[2]

He was Lord Clerk Register and Keeper of the Signet from 1862 until his death. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1863.[2]

He lived in Riccarton House to the south-west of Edinburgh.[3] This huge Gothic mansion was demolished in the 20th century and now serves as the Riccarton Campus serving Heriot Watt University.[4]

Family

His younger brother, James Thomson Gibson-Craig WS (1799–1886) was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.[1]

He was married to Betsy Vivian. They had six children.

One of his grandchildren was the philanthropist Dorothy Brooke.[2]

Publications
  • On Howard's Wheel Plough

References
  1. C D Waterston; A Macmillan Shearer (July 2006). Former Fellows of The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783–2002: Part 1 (A–J) (PDF). Royal Society of Edinburgh. ISBN 090219884X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  2. Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd.
  3. "List of the Ordinary Fellows of the Society". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 26 (1): xi–xiii. 1870. doi:10.1017/S008045680002648X. S2CID 251579034.
  4. Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam
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