Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas
Encyclopedia
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, now remembered for commissioning the Charlotte Dundas
Charlotte Dundas
The Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world's "first practical steamboat", the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships....
, the world's "first practical steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
".
Biography
Thomas was the only son of Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet, the "Nabob of the North". Following education at EtonEton 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 St. Andrews University he did the Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
, then became Member of Parliament for Richmond
Richmond (Yorks) (UK Parliament constituency)
Richmond is a constituency located in North Yorkshire, which elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
, 1763–1768, then for Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Stirlingshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain and later of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 until 1918...
, 1768–1794. He was elevated to the peerage
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
as Baron Dundas of Aske
Aske Hall
Aske Hall is a Georgian country house, with parkland attributed to Capability Brown, north of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It contains an impressive collection of 18th-century furniture, paintings and porcelain, and in its grounds a John Carr stable block converted into a chapel in...
in August 1794, and was also Lord Lieutenant
Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland
This is a list of people who served as Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland. The Lieutenancy was replaced by two Lieutenancies, the Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and the Lord Lieutenant of Shetland, in 1948.* James Douglas, 11th Earl of Morton 1715 – ?*...
and Vice Admiral of Orkney and Shetland, Councillor of state to the Prince of Wales (later George IV
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
), President of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries and Colonel of the North York Militia.
Charlotte Dundas
Thomas Dundas followed his father in having an interest in GrangemouthGrangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
and in the Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
, under construction from 1768 to 1790, and he would have been aware of the 1789 trials on the canal of Patrick Miller of Dalswinton
Patrick Miller of Dalswinton
Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, just north of Dumfries was a Scottish banker and shareholder in the Carron Company engineering works and an enthusiastic experimenter in ordnance and naval architecture, including double- or triple-hulled pleasure boats propelled by cranked paddle wheels placed...
's double-hulled paddle boat
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
powered with a steam engine fitted by William Symington
William Symington
William Symington was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas.-Early life:...
. In 1800 Dundas, as Governor of the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, engaged Symington to design a steam tug on the lines of a failed attempt by Captain John Schank
John Schank
Admiral John Schank was an officer of the British Royal Navy known for his skill in ship construction and mechanical design.-Biography:...
for the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
. At a meeting of the canal company's directors on the 5 June 1800 Dundas "produced a model of a boat by Captain Schank to be worked by a steam engine by Mr Symington", and it was agreed this should be immediately put in hand.
The boat was built to Symington's design. It had successful trials on the River Carron
River Carron (Forth)
The River Carron is a river in central Scotland. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon, a line of bathtubs, two warships and an island in the Southern Hemisphere.-River Carron:The river rises in the Campsie Fells before flowing into...
in June 1801 and further trials towing sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
s from the river Forth
River Forth
The River Forth , long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some west of Stirling...
up the Carron and thence along the Forth and Clyde Canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
. The other proprietors of the canal were concerned about wave damage to the canal banks, and the Committee decided that the boat would "by no means answer the purpose".
Symington had proposals for an improved boat which were presented in the form of a model, shown to Lord Dundas, of the boat which would become famous as the Charlotte Dundas
Charlotte Dundas
The Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world's "first practical steamboat", the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships....
, named in honour of one of his Lordship's daughters. One account states that Lord Dundas had advised Symington to prepare the model and bring it to his Lordship in London
London
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...
, where Symington was introduced to the Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
who was enthusiastic enough to immediately order eight boats of similar construction for his canal. Unfortunately the Duke of Bridgewater died a few days before the first sailing, and nothing came of this order.
Lord Dundas and some of his relatives and friends were on board for the first sailing of the boat on the canal in 1803, but despite the success of the Charlotte Dundas fears of erosion of the banks prevailed, and the trials were ended leaving Symington out-of-pocket
Out-of-pocket expenses
Out-of-pocket expenses are direct outlays of cash which may or may not be later reimbursed.In operating a vehicle, gasoline, parking fees and tolls are considered out-of-pocket expenses for the trip...
.
Family
He married Lady Charlotte FitzWilliam, the daughter of William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliamWilliam Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam
William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam was a British peer.He was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum Lound, Nottinghamshire...
, on 24 May 1764 and they had 14 children:
- Lawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of ZetlandLawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of ZetlandLawrence Dundas, 1st Earl of Zetland was a British politician and nobleman.Born in Westminster, the son of Thomas Dundas, 1st Baron Dundas, he was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge....
(1766–1839) - Anne Dundas (1767)
- Thomas Dundas (born 1768; died young)
- Lt-Col. the Hon. William Lawrence Dundas (18 May 1770 – 1796), died in Santo DomingoSanto DomingoSanto Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
- the Hon. Charles Lawrence Dundas (18 July 1771 – 25 January 1810)
- the Hon. Margaret Dundas (9 November 1772 – 8 May 1852), married Archibald Spiers
- the Hon. Charlotte Dundas (18 June 1774 – 5 January 1855), married Rev. William Wharton
- the Hon. and Rev. Thomas Lawrence Dundas (12 October 1775 – 17 March 1848)
- the Hon. Frances Laura Dundas (24 May 1777 – 27 November 1844), married Robert Chaloner
- R-Adm. the Hon. George Heneage Lawrence DundasGeorge Heneage DundasRear Admiral George Heneage Lawrence Dundas CB was a senior naval officer and First Naval Lord.-Family:He was the fifth son of Thomas Dundas by his wife Charlotte, daughter of the third Earl Fitzwilliam.-HMS Queen Charlotte:In February 1800 George Heneage Dundas was aboard Lord Keith's flagship,...
(1778–1834) - Maj-Gen. the Hon. Sir Robert Lawrence Dundas (27 July 1780 – 23 November 1844)
- Dorothy Dundas (August 1785 – December 1790)
- the Hon. Mary Dundas (30 May 1787 – 1 November 1830), married Charles FitzWilliam, 5th Earl FitzWilliam
- the Hon. Isabella Dundas (25 February 1790 – 6 December 1887), married Sir John Ramsden, 4th Baronet
External links
- William Symington
- William Symington, inventor of steam navigation
- Individual Record Dundas Thomas
- Zetland Estates
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