Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto
Gilbert Elliot - Murray - Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto (* April 23, 1751 in Edinburgh, † June 21, 1814 in Stevenage ) was a British politician and diplomat.
Life
Elliot was the eldest son of the poet and member of Parliament Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet († 1777), whose title he inherited after his death. To 1763 he was sent with his brother for the purpose of training to Paris. Her studies there were monitored by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. They had close contact with Mirabeau. Once Elliot had initially studied at the University of Edinburgh, he moved to Christ Church College in Oxford. After completing his training Elliot became a lawyer.
However, he was elected to the House of Commons as an independent Whig for the electoral district of Morpeth in 1774. From 1777 he represented Roxburghshire, 1786-1790 Berwick and finally to 1795 Helston. He allied himself there with Edmund Burke and in 1793 a member of the Privy Council.
In 1777 he married Anna Maria Amyand, a daughter of Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet, by whom he had six children.
In 1794 he was sent to Corsica, to rule this island, which was occupied by the British. In June, Elliot was appointed viceroy of the island. But he had to leave at the end of 1796 after the landing of a French army.
He went out as an envoy to Naples and was raised in October 1797, the Baron Minto to the peer. During this time he also took the additional surname " Murray Kynynmound " to. From 1799 to the end of the Pitt government in 1801, he was first Ambassador in Vienna and in 1806 was appointed Governor-General of British India. He occupied there in agreement with the Portuguese government Goa, then Tranquebar and the other Danish possessions in India, captured in 1809 the French islands of Bourbon ( Reunion Island ) and Île de France (Mauritius ) in 1810 took over the Dutch possessions Amboina, Celebes and Ceylon, 1811 Java and 1812 Dutch colonies on Sumatra and Borneo.
His shattered health forced him to return to the UK in 1813, where he was raised because of its success to the Earl of Minto and died on 21 June 1814. His son Gilbert, who inherited the title after his death, was also a politician.