Authorised form of name | Bruce; Alexander (c1629 - 1680); 2nd Earl of Kincardine; landowner and politician |
Dates | c1629 - 1680 |
Nationality | British |
Place of birth | Europe |
Date of birth | c.1629 |
Place of death | Europe |
Date of death | 9 July 1680 |
Dates and places | Burial: Bruce family chapel, Culross, Fife, Scotland, Europe (c. July 1680) |
Activity | 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)
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Membership category | Founder Fellow |
Date of election | 28/11/1660 |
Relationships | 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 |
General context | 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. |
Sources | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; GEC; Dalton; ODNB 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 |
Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/188597655 |
Royal Society code | NA4353 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
Reference number | Title | Date |
MM/14/49 | Letter from Lord Elgin, Dunfermline, to William Douglas | 28 March 1930 |
DM/5/72E | 'Recommended to the Right Hon. the Earls of Kincardine' | c.1663 |
MM/14/47 | Letter from J Drummond Robertson,Torquay, to William Douglas | 28 February 1930 |
MM/14/45 | Letter from Lord Elgin, Dunfermline, to David Douglas | 20 February 1879 |
MM/14/48 | Letter from MW Meikle, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, to William Douglas | 19 March 1930 |
MM/14/51 | Copy of letter from William Douglas to the Earl of Elgin | 31 March 1930 |
MM/14/46 | Letter from TG Law, Edinburgh, to David Douglas | 5 January 1888 |
MM/14/50 | Letter from J Drummond Robertson., Torquay, to William Douglas | 30 March 1930 |
MM/14/52 | Letter from Alexander Miller, Edinburgh, to William Douglas | 30 April 1930 |
MM/14/53 | Letter from JA Vollgraff, Leyden, to the Royal Society | 28 September 1947 |
MS/390/61 | Bond of Alexander Bruce, 2nd Earl of Kincardine, to the Treasurer of the Royal Society | 20 April 1675 |
MM/14/44 | Copy of letter from David Douglas to the Earl of Elgin | 17 February 1879 |
CLP/3i/8 | Paper, 'Off wynd mills in Holland' by Mr [Alexander?] Bruce | [1662] |