Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington
Encyclopedia
Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, GCMG, GCIE (29 July 186016 September 1940) was a British
politician and colonial administrator who was Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and Governor of Bombay from 1903 to 1907.
, England
, he was the only son of Alexander Baillie-Cochrane, the 1st Baron Lamington
. Charles was educated at Eton College
and Christ Church, Oxford
where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
in 1883. In 1885, he became assistant private secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, Lord Salisbury
.
for the borough constituency
of St Pancras North, but he won the subsequent election
in July 1886, taking his seat in the British House of Commons
for the Conservative Party
.
Upon the death of his father in 1890, he succeeded as the 2nd Baron Lamington
.
On 13 June 1895, he married Mary Houghton Hozier at St Michael's Church, Pimlico
; they had two children, a son and a daughter.
In 1890, the British Government sent Lord Lamington to travel between Tonkin
in Vietnam
and Siam, with a view to annexing the Sipsongpanna region of China
in an attempt to limit French
colonisation of the area.
as Governor of Queensland, and he was sworn in on 9 April 1896. He was a very politically conservative
governor, and expressed a concern that the Federation of Australia
which took place during his tenure would lead to unrestrained socialism
. He also worked with the first Premier of Queensland, Sir Samuel Griffith
, to ensure that the role of vice-regal governors was not diminished after Federation.
Apart from six months leave in England when he was knighted GCMG, Lord Lamington served as governor for five years until 19 December 1901. In 1903 he was made GCIE, and appointed as Governor of Bombay, where the royal prerogative he exercised was far more powerful than it had been in Australia.. He is also noted as being sympathetic, after having met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to the Bahá'í Faith
.
, prior to its allocation as a French mandate
.
He returned to his family home, Lamington House, in Lanarkshire
, Scotland
, where he died on 16 September 1940, aged 80.
for allegedly giving his name to the lamington
, a popular Australian cake consisting of a cube of sponge cake
dipped in chocolate icing and sprinkled with desiccated coconut
. The stories of the creation of the lamington vary widely, although in most versions Lamington's chef Armand Gallan at Queensland's Government House
devises the cake either by accident or due to a shortage of ingredients. Lamington is also reported to have referred to the cakes as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".
The Lamington Plateau and National Park
in Queensland
, Lamington Bridge
in Maryborough, Queensland
, Mount Lamington
(a volcano in Papua New Guinea
), and Lamington Road in Mumbai
were also named after him.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
politician and colonial administrator who was Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and Governor of Bombay from 1903 to 1907.
Early life
Born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he was the only son of Alexander Baillie-Cochrane, the 1st Baron Lamington
Baron Lamington
Baron Lamington, of Lamington in the County of Lanark, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for Alexander Baillie-Cochrane, a long-standing Conservative Member of Parliament and old friend of Benjamin Disraeli. He was the son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas...
. Charles was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1883. In 1885, he became assistant private secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Lord Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
.
Political career
Cochrane-Baillie was narrowly defeated in the 1885 electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1885
-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...
for the borough constituency
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of St Pancras North, but he won the subsequent election
United Kingdom general election, 1886
-Seats summary:-See also:*MPs elected in the UK general election, 1886*The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987**...
in July 1886, taking his seat in the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
for the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
.
Upon the death of his father in 1890, he succeeded as the 2nd Baron Lamington
Baron Lamington
Baron Lamington, of Lamington in the County of Lanark, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for Alexander Baillie-Cochrane, a long-standing Conservative Member of Parliament and old friend of Benjamin Disraeli. He was the son of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas...
.
On 13 June 1895, he married Mary Houghton Hozier at St Michael's Church, Pimlico
Pimlico
Pimlico is a small area of central London in the City of Westminster. Like Belgravia, to which it was built as a southern extension, Pimlico is known for its grand garden squares and impressive Regency architecture....
; they had two children, a son and a daughter.
In 1890, the British Government sent Lord Lamington to travel between Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Siam, with a view to annexing the Sipsongpanna region of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in an attempt to limit French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonisation of the area.
Governorships
In October 1895, Lord Lamington was selected to replace Sir Henry NormanHenry Norman
Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet PC was an English journalist and Liberal politician. Norman was educated privately in France and at Harvard University, where he obtained his B.A...
as Governor of Queensland, and he was sworn in on 9 April 1896. He was a very politically conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
governor, and expressed a concern that the Federation of Australia
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
which took place during his tenure would lead to unrestrained socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. He also worked with the first Premier of Queensland, Sir Samuel Griffith
Samuel Griffith
Sir Samuel Walker Griffith GCMG QC, was an Australian politician, Premier of Queensland, Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and a principal author of the Constitution of Australia.-Early life:...
, to ensure that the role of vice-regal governors was not diminished after Federation.
Apart from six months leave in England when he was knighted GCMG, Lord Lamington served as governor for five years until 19 December 1901. In 1903 he was made GCIE, and appointed as Governor of Bombay, where the royal prerogative he exercised was far more powerful than it had been in Australia.. He is also noted as being sympathetic, after having met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
.
Later life
In 1919, Lord Lamington served as commissioner of the British Relief Unit in SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, prior to its allocation as a French mandate
French Mandate of Syria
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
.
He returned to his family home, Lamington House, in Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where he died on 16 September 1940, aged 80.
Legacy
Lord Lamington is best known in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for allegedly giving his name to the lamington
Lamington
A lamington is a sponge cake of Australian origin in the shape of a cuboid, coated in a layer of traditionally chocolate icing then desiccated coconut. Lamingtons are sometimes served as two halves with a layer of cream and/or strawberry jam between, and are commonly found in South African and...
, a popular Australian cake consisting of a cube of sponge cake
Sponge cake
Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...
dipped in chocolate icing and sprinkled with desiccated coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
. The stories of the creation of the lamington vary widely, although in most versions Lamington's chef Armand Gallan at Queensland's Government House
Old Government House, Queensland
Queensland's first Government House is located at Gardens Point in the grounds of the Queensland University of Technology at the end of George Street in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
devises the cake either by accident or due to a shortage of ingredients. Lamington is also reported to have referred to the cakes as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".
The Lamington Plateau and National Park
Lamington National Park
Lamington is a national park in Queensland, Australia, lying on the Lamington Plateau of the McPherson Range on the Queensland/New South Wales border...
in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Lamington Bridge
Lamington Bridge
The Lamington Bridge is a road bridge over the Mary River at Maryborough, Queensland, Australia.The heritage listed bridge is one of the earliest concrete bridges in Australia...
in Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
, Mount Lamington
Mount Lamington
Mount Lamington is an andesitic stratovolcano in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. The forested peak of the volcano had not been recognised as such until its devastating eruption in 1951 that caused about 3,000 deaths....
(a volcano in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
), and Lamington Road in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
were also named after him.