Morton, James Douglas, Earl of, 1702-1768

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James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton (1702-1768) was educated in Edinburgh and at King's College, Cambridge. An amateur scientist and mathematician, Morton was the first President of the Edinburgh Society for Improving the Arts and Sciences; served as President of the Royal Society from 1764-1768; was one of eight foreign members of the Académie française; and may have served as one of the first trustees of the British Museum.

Morton married Agatha Halyburton of Pitcur in 1731; only two of their children reached adulthood. While traveling in France in 1745, he and his family were imprisoned in the Bastille, from which Morton was not released for several weeks. He also served as Keeper of the Records of Scotland, and was drawing up a plan for the better preservation of the archives when he died on October 12, 1768, at Chiswick. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sholto Charles Douglas, who died at Taormina in 1774.

From the description of Papers of the Earl of Morton, 1745-1807. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702165056

James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton (1702-1768) was educated in Edinburgh and at King's College, Oxford. An amateur scientist and mathematician, Morton was the first President of the Edinburgh Society for Improving the Arts and Sciences; served as President of the Royal Society from 1764-1768; was one of eight foreign members of the Académie française; and may have served as one of the first trustees of the British Museum.

Morton married Agatha Halyburton of Pitcur in 1731; only two of their children reached adulthood. While traveling in France in 1745, he and his family were imprisoned in the Bastille, from which Morton was not released for several weeks. He also served as Keeper of the Records of Scotland, and was drawing up a plan for the better preservation of the archives when he died on October 12, 1768, at Chiswick. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sholto Charles Douglas, who died at Taormina in 1774.

From the description of Papers of the Earl of Morton, 1745-1807. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 78217424

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith A. Belle-Isle, Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de, 1684-1761. person
associatedWith A. Duhamel du Monceau, M., 1700-1782. person
associatedWith Banks, Joseph, 1743-1820. person
associatedWith Bastille. corporateBody
associatedWith Belle-Isle, Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de, 1684-1761. person
associatedWith Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de, 1707-1788. person
associatedWith Clairaut, M., 1713-1765. person
associatedWith Decker, Matthew, Sir, 1679-1749. person
associatedWith Douglas, Robert, d. 1745. person
associatedWith Douglas, William, d. 1747. person
associatedWith Duhamel du Monceau, M., 1700-1782. person
associatedWith Farquharson, Francis. person
associatedWith Geoffrin, Marie Thérèse Rodet, 1699-1777. person
associatedWith Hoey, Abraham van, 1684-1766. person
associatedWith Irwin, Anne, Viscountess, 1696-1764. person
correspondedWith Jefferys, Thomas, d. 1771. person
associatedWith König, Samuel, 1712-1757. person
associatedWith Le Monnier, Louis Guillaume, 1717-1799. person
associatedWith Le Monnier, M. (Pierre-Charles), 1715-1799. person
associatedWith MacLaurin, Colin, 1698-1746. person
associatedWith Moncure, John. person
associatedWith Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat, baron de, 1689-1755. person
associatedWith Morton, George Douglas, Earl of, 1761-1827. person
associatedWith Morton, Sholto Charles, Earl of, 1732-1774. person
associatedWith Réaumur, René-Antoine Ferchault de, 1683-1757. person
associatedWith Royal Society (Great Britain) corporateBody
associatedWith Saint-Germain, comte de, d. 1784. person
associatedWith Select Society. corporateBody
associatedWith Walpole, Robert, Earl of Orford, 1676-1745. person
associatedWith West, Benjamin, 1730-1813. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Great Britain
Scotland
France
Scotland
Great Britain
France
Subject
Astronomy
Astronomy
Enlightenment
Enlightenment
Jacobite Rebellion, 1745-1746
Natural history
Philosophes
Telescopes
Occupation
Scientists
Activity

Person

Birth 1702

Death 1768-10-12

English,

French

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