Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow
Encyclopedia
Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow KG
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...

, KT
Order of the Thistle
The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...

, GCSI
Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...

, GCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...

, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

 (24 September 18875 January 1952) was a British statesman who served as Governor-General and Viceroy of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...

 from 1936 to 1943.

Early life and family

Hope was born at Hopetoun House, South Queensferry
South Queensferry
South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...

, Linlithgowshire
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, 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...

, on 24 September 1887. He was the elder son of John Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun
John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow
John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , also known as Viscount Aithrie before 1873 and as The 7th Earl of Hopetoun between 1873 and 1902, was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his brief and controversial tenure as the...

, afterwards 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, and Hersey Everleigh-de-Moleyns
Hersey, Marchioness of Linlithgow
Hersey, Marchioness of Linlithgow was a British aristocrat, who was the wife of John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, who, as the 7th Earl of Hopetoun, was the first Governor-General of Australia 1901-1902.-Biography:...

, Countess of Hopetoun and later Marchioness of Linlithgow, daughter of the fourth Baron Ventry
Baron Ventry
Baron Ventry, of Ventry in the County of Kerry, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for Sir Thomas Mullins, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Ventry in the County of Kerry, in the Baronetage of Ireland in 1797. The Mullins family claimed descent from...

. His godmother was Queen Victoria. He 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 on 29 February 1908 succeeded his father as 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow.

Early career

Linlithgow served as an officer on the Western Front during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, ending the war with the rank of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

. He commanded of a battalion of the Royal Scots. He was mentioned in dispatches and appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

. He then served in various minor roles in the Conservative
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...

 governments of the 1920s and '30s. From 1922 till 1924 he served as the civil lord of the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

, becoming chairman of the Unionist Party
Unionist Party
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom the term "unionist' may indicate support for either;* the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England or,* the 1800 Act of Union between Ireland and Great Britain....

 Organization in 1924 for two years. He also served as President of the Navy League from 1924 until 1931. He served as chairman of the Medical Research Council
Medical Research Council (UK)
The Medical Research Council is a publicly-funded agency responsible for co-ordinating and funding medical research in the United Kingdom. It is one of seven Research Councils in the UK and is answerable to, although politically independent from, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...

 and of the governing body of the Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...

. Linlithgow was also chairman of the committee on the distribution and prices of agricultural produce and president of the Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture until 1933. In 1926 he was Chairman of the Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...

 on Agriculture in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, which published its findings in 1928. Influenced by submissions to the Royal Commission, "a decade later, when (he) became Viceroy of India he showed a personal interest in nutrition, pushing it to the top of the research agenda".

In the 1930s he was also chairman of the select committee on Indian constitutional reform.

Having previously declined both the governorship of Madras and the governor-generalship of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...

 (his father was the first Governor-General of Australia), he became the Viceroy of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...

 on 18 April 1936, succeeding Lord Willingdon
Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon
Major Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon was a British Liberal politician and administrator who served as Governor General of Canada, the 13th since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and Governor-General of India, the country's 22nd.Freeman-Thomas was born in England and...

. Linlithgow implemented the plans for local self-government embodied in the Government of India Act
Government of India Act
The term Government of India Act refers to any one of a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to regulate the government of British India, in particular:...

 of 1935, which led to government led by the Congress Party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

 in five of the 11 provinces, but the recalcitrance of the princes prevented the full establishment of Indian self government. With the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Linlithgow's appeal for unity led to the resignation of the Congress ministries. Disputes between the British administration and Congress ultimately led to massive Indian civil disobedience in the Quit India Movement
Quit India Movement
The Quit India Movement , or the August Movement was a civil disobedience movement launched in India in August 1942 in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for immediate independence. Gandhi hoped to bring the British government to the negotiating table...

 in 1942. Linlithgow suppressed the disturbances and arrested the Congress leaders. He is partly blamed for the Bengal famine of 1943
Bengal famine of 1943
The Bengal famine of 1943 struck the Bengal. Province of pre-partition India. Estimates are that between 1.5 and 4 million people died of starvation, malnutrition and disease, out of Bengal’s 60.3 million population, half of them dying from disease after food became available in December 1943 As...

.

Character

It was during this period that, while attending Christmas morning service at the Cathedral of the Redemption in Delhi with his large family, whose surname was Hope, he had to sit through a sermon delivered by the verbose Bishop of Calcutta
Bishop of Calcutta
The Bishop of Calcutta exercises episcopal leadership over the Diocese of Calcutta of the Church of North India. The diocese was established in 1813 as part of the Church of England and the first bishop was Thomas Fanshawe Middleton and the second Reginald Heber...

 (Foss Westcott
Foss Westcott
Foss Westcott was an English bishop.Westcott was the son of a distinguished clergyman, Brooke Foss Westcott and was educated at Cheltenham College and Peterhouse, Cambridge. Ordained in 1887, his first post was as curate of St Peter's Church, Bishopwearmouth...

) and Metropolitan of India attacking his attitude to Congress and Home Rule; the peroration of the sermon led to uncontrollable laughter in church as the bishop gestured at the viceregal pew and said "... and all we have left is an array of blasted hopes."

Retirement

He retired in 1943, his seven-year tenure as Viceroy having been the longest in the history of the Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. He was considered by his British obituarists to have been one of the most skillful colonial officers to have held the highest office. Indians were less kind than his obituarists: VP Menon in The Transfer of Power in India recorded: "His 7½ year regime -- longer than that of any other Viceroy -- was conspicuous by its lack of positive achievement. When he left India, famine stalked portions of the countryside. There was economic distress due to the rising cost of living and the shortage of essential commodities. On the political side, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru expressed the general feeling thus: ' Today, I say, after seven years of Lord Linlithgow's administration the country is much more divided than it was when he came here'." A sincere Presbyterian, he served as Lord High Commissioner to the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 in 1944 and 1945. He died in 1952.

Styles

  • 1887–1902: Viscount Aithrie
  • 1902–1908: Earl of Hopetoun
  • 1908–1917: The Most Honourable
    The Most Honourable
    The prefix The Most Honourable is a title of quality attached to the names of marquesses in the United Kingdom. Dukes are The Most Noble or His Grace and peers under the rank of marquess are The Right Honourable. Scottish Feudal Barons and Lairds are The Much Honoured.Certain corporate entities...

    The Marquess of Linlithgow
    Marquess of Linlithgow
    Marquess of Linlithgow, in the County of Linlithgow or West Lothian, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1902 for John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun....

  • 1917–1919: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, TD
    Territorial Decoration
    The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

  • 1919–1928: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, OBE, TD
  • 1928–1929: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT
    KT
    -Science:* kT in Physics* Knot , a unit of velocity * Kardashev scale, method of measuring an advanced civilization's level of technological advancement...

    , OBE, TD
  • 1929–1935: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT, GCIE, OBE, TD
  • 1935–1936: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT, PC
    Privy council
    A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...

    , GCIE, OBE, TD
  • 1936–1943: His Excellency
    Excellency
    Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...

    The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KT, PC, GCSI, GCIE, OBE, TD
  • 1943–1952: The Most Honourable The Marquess of Linlithgow, KG, KT, PC, GCSI, GCIE, OBE, TD

Family

On 19 April 1911 he married Doreen Maud Milner (1886–1965), the younger daughter of Sir Frederick Milner. They had twin sons and three daughters:
  • Charles William Frederick (7 April 1912–1987); succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess
  • John Adrian Louis
    John Hope, 1st Baron Glendevon
    John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Baron Glendevon PC , known as Lord John Hope from 1912 to 1964, was a Scottish Tory politician....

     (7 April 1912–18 January 1996); born Lord John Hope; became a Conservative statesman and was made 1st Baron Glendevon
    Baron Glendevon
    Baron Glendevon, of Midhope in the County of Linlithgow, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1964 for the Conservative politician Lord John Hope. He was the younger twin son of Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow. the title is held by his younger son, the third...

     in 1964 (he married the daughter of the English novelist W. Somerset Maugham
    W. Somerset Maugham
    William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...

    )
  • Lady Anne Adeline (b. 27 January 1914)
  • Lady Joan Isabella (b. 21 September 1915)
  • Lady Doreen Hersey Winifred (b. 17 June 1920), the mother of Lucinda Green
    Lucinda Green
    Lucinda Green MBE is a champion British equestrian and journalist who before her marriage was Lucinda Jane Prior-Palmer.-Family:...

    , a famous equestrian
    Equestrianism
    Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

    .

In some circles the three girls were known as Faint Hope, Little Hope and No Hope.
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