Person Bruce; Alexander (c 1629 - 1680); 2nd Earl of Kincardine; landowner and politician Bruce Alexander landowner and politician c 1629 - 1680 British Male Europe c 1629 16290000 Europe 9 July 1680 16800709 Burial: Bruce family chapel, Culross, Fife, Scotland, Europe (c. July 1680)

White Swan Inn, Bremen, Germany (-1660)

Education: St Leonard's College, St Andrews (matriculated 1645) Career: Left Scotland and moved to Bremen (1657), Hamburg (1658) and The Hague (1660); collaborated with Hugen de Zulinchem and Christiaan Huygens to devise a pendulum clock to determine longitude at sea (1658); returned to Scotland (1660); Privy Councillor (Scotland) (1660); Major in the Holland Regiment (1665); Commander at Pentland rising (1666); Extraordinary Lord of Session (1667-1680); joint Commissioner of the Treasury (Scotland) (1666-1680); Privy Councillor (England) (1674-1676) Parents: Sir George Bruce of Culross and Mary Preston Siblings: Edward Bruce, 1st Earl of Kincardine Married: Veronica van Arsen Children: five sons and four daughters One of the insights into Bruce's life can be gained through his lengthy correpondence with Robert Moray spanning roughly 15 years (1657-1673, Moray's death). Their letters covered a wide variety of topics, including chemistry, mathematics, physics, horticulture, moral philosophy, divinity, and mining. The latter reportedly featured in his reports to the early Society, in which he gave detailed insights into subterranean mining experiments at his family estate in Culross. Following on from his experiments with Huygens in chronometry, Bruce was involved in a patent dispute on the resulting invention, with a patent finally being granted in the Royal Society's name in 1665. Bruce tried to persuade Robert Moray and John Maitland to found a Scottish East India Company in 1671, in order to guarantee commercial success of Scottish colonists from Scottish plantations went to Scotland and not England. He profited of a newly created salt monopoly as he was responsible for collecting customs and excise duties for an annual rent of £2000 Scots. He laid down this post after a rise in opposition to the increasing salt prices in 1673. Bruce was additionally involved in the attempts of the English House of Commons to impeach John Maitland, the duke of Lauderdale for misgovernment of Scotland. Founder Fellow 28/11/1660 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; GEC; Dalton; ODNB A second election date for Bruce, after the establishment of the second Charter, is the 20 May 1663. References: Martin, D C. 1960. 'Sir Robert Moray, FRS (1608?-1673)', in Notes and Records, vol. 15, pp. 239-250 Wemyss, C. 2005. 'Merchant and Citizen of Rotterdam: The Early Career of Sir William Bruce', in Architectural Heritage XVI, pp. 14-30 Youngson, A J. 1960. 'Alexander Bruce, FRS, Second Earl of Kincardine (1629-1681)', in Notes and Records, vol. 15, pp. 251-258 International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 c 1629 - 9 Jul 1680 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 16/11/2021 as part of Name Authority Project update. NA4353 21/11/2001 Andyg pmab 17/02/2026 RS_NET\VidaM Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/188597655 5e2d581f-7710-474b-9d71-4377acae1e35