Regency Personalities Series-John Murray 4th Duke of Atholl
Regency Personalities Series
In my attempts to provide us with the details of the Regency, today I continue with one of the many period notables.
John Murray 4th Duke of Atholl
30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830
John Murray
John Murray 4th Duke of Atholl was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl and his wife, Charlotte, 8th Baroness Strange, daughter of James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl. Lord George Murray and Lord Charles Murray-Aynsley were his younger brothers. He became known by the courtesy title Marquess of Tullibardine when his father succeeded to the dukedom in 1764.
Murray succeeded his father as fourth Duke of Atholl in 1774 and was elected a Scottish Representative Peer. In 1786 he was created Baron Murray, of Stanley in the County of Gloucester, and Earl Strange in the Peerage of Great Britain, which gave him an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He later served as Lord-Lieutenant of Perthshire from 1794 to 1830 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1797. In 1800 he was made a Knight of the Thistle. He succeeded his mother in the barony of Strange in 1805. He was also Grand Master of the Antient Grand Lodge of England from 1775 until 1781 and again from 1791 until 1812.
Atholl married the Honourable Jane Cathcart, daughter of Charles Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart, on 26 December 1774. They had three children:
John Murray, 5th Duke of Atholl (1778–1846)
Lady Amelia Sophia Murray (5 July 1780 – 19 June 1849). She married James Drummond, Viscount of Strathallan, and had nine children.
James Murray, 1st Baron Glenlyon (1782–1837)
After his first wife’s death in 1790 he married Marjory, daughter of James Forbes, 16th Lord Forbes and Catherine Innes and widow of John Mackenzie, Lord MacLeod, on 11 March 1794. They had two children who both died young. Atholl died in September 1830, aged 75, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John. The Duchess of Atholl died in October 1842, aged 81.
