James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn

James Edward Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn (29 February 1904 – 4 June 1979), styled Viscount Strabane until 1913 and Marquess of Hamilton between 1913 and 1953, was a British peer.^[1]

His Grace The Duke of Abercorn
The Duke of Abercorn in 1960
Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone
In office 1951–1979
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	James Ponsonby Galbraith
Succeeded by	John Hamilton-Stubber
Member of the Senate of Northern Ireland
In office 22 March 1949 – 8 May 1962
Personal details
Born	James Edward Hamilton, Viscount Strabane (1904-02-29)29 February 1904 Marylebone, London
Died	4 June 1979(1979-06-04) (aged 75)
Political party	Unionist
Spouse	Hon. Kathleen Crichton ​ ​ (m. 1928)​
Children	3, including James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn
Parents	James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn Lady Rosalind Bingham

Early life and education

Abercorn was born in 1904 at 15 Montagu Square, London,^[2] the son of James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, and Lady Rosalind Cecilia Caroline Bingham.^[3] He inherited his father's peerages on 12 September 1953.^[3][4]

He was educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst.^[5]

Career

After Sandhurst, Lord Hamilton was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, where he rose to the rank of captain.^[4] In 1946, he was elected to the County Council of County Tyrone, served as High Sheriff of Tyrone, and then served in the Senate of Northern Ireland.^[4] He became Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone on his father's death, a position he held for the remainder of his life.^[4] He was appointed honorary colonel of the 5th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (a Territorial Army unit), and died at age 75.^[4]

He was active in public life in Northern Ireland. He was chairman of the trustees of the Ulster Museum from 1962–79 and Chancellor of the University of Ulster from 1970-79. He was president of the Royal Forestry Society from 1954-66 and also served as president of the International Dendrological Union (later the International Dendrology Society).^[5]

Marriage and issue

In 1928, Abercorn married Lady Kathleen Crichton (1905–1990), a daughter of Henry Crichton, Viscount Crichton (1872–1914, son of 4th Earl Erne and father of the 5th Earl Erne) and Lady Mary Cavendish Grosvenor (1883–1959, daughter of the 1st Duke of Westminster).^[3]

They had two sons and a daughter:

• Lady Moyra Kathleen Hamilton (1930–2020), maid of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II^[6]
• James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn (born 1934)
• Lord Claud Anthony Hamilton (born 1939), who was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of County Fermanagh in 1978; he was High Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1990 and was made a Justice of the Peace for the county in 1991. In 1982 he married Catherine Janet Faulkner (niece of Lord Faulkner of Downpatrick). They have a son and a daughter.^[6]

Ancestry

Ancestors of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Abercorn

8. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn 4. James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn 9. Lady Louisa Jane Russell 2. James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn 10. Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe 5. Lady Mary Curzon-Howe 11. Anne Gore 1. James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton 12. George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan 6. Charles Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan 13. Lady Anne Brudenell 3. Lady Rosalind Bingham 14. Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond 7. Lady Cecilia Gordon-Lennox 7. Lady Caroline Paget

See also

• List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords