Name William Mackinnon | Role Politician | |
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Died April 30, 1870, Broadstairs, United Kingdom Education St John's College, Cambridge Children William Alexander Mackinnon Books On the rise, progress, and present state of public opinion in Great Britain, and other parts of the world | ||
William Alexander Mackinnon (2 August 1789 – 30 April 1870) was a British politician.
Contents
Life
He was born in Broadstairs, Kent in 1789 and educated at St John's College, Cambridge.
A Whig, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunwich from 1819 to 1820, for Lymington from 1831 to 1832 and from 1835 to 1852, and for Rye from 1853 to 1865.
At the 1852 general election he was defeated in Lymington, but his son William had been elected in Rye. However, a petition was lodged against the younger Mackinnon's election, and in May 1853 it was declared void. The elder Mackinnon successfully contested the resulting by-election on 23 May 1853. On his retirement in 1865 the seat was taken by his son, Lauchlan Bellingham. Again, treating was alleged.
He was a J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant of Middlesex. Some of his parliamentary work concerned animal welfare and in 1858 he chaired the AGM of the RSPCA, having been appointed vice chair in 1837.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1827, submitting a paper on the absorption of atmospheric moisture by the state of chalk and limestone. He was also invested as a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was chairman of the Furness Iron and Steel Co at its inauguration in 1866. His three sons were also shareholders. He was a director of the Elan Valley Railway He wrote three books, "Thoughts on the currency question", Public Opinion" and "The history of civilisation"
He succeeded in 1809 as the 33rd Chief of the Clan Mackinnon.
Marriage and children
He married Emma Mary Palmer, daughter of Joseph Palmer, of Palmerstown, Co Mayo and Rush House, co Dublin; they had three sons and three daughters. Emma Mary died in November 1835 and W A Mackinnon inherited Joseph Palmer's estates on his death. The inheritance included the estates of Greenscoe and Greenhaume near Dalton in Furness.
The eldest son, William Alexander, was also an M.P.,.
The daughter Louisa Harriet married Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald.
Another daughter Emma Mary Mackinnon (15 August 1811 – Paris, 15 November 1891), married Antoine Alfred Agénor Duc de Gramont: Foreign minister for the French Second Empire, and who instigated contact with Wilhelm I leading to the Ems Telegram.
The second son, Lauchlan Bellingham 1814 - 1877 was a Royal Navy captain and wrote three books.
The third son was Major General Daniel Henry Mackinnon 1814 - 1884. He wrote "Military Service and Adventures in the Far East; Including Sketches of the Campaigns Against the Afghans in 1839 and the Sikhs in 1845-6