Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald

The 9th Earl of Dundonald.

Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald (1 January 1748 – 1 July 1831) was a Scottish nobleman and inventor. The son of Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald, he joined the British Army as a youth and also served time in the Royal Navy before returning to Culross in 1778 after inheriting the Earldom of Dundonald from his father.

He inherited a title and family lands but little money. Left with no other means of support, Archibald turned to invention. His most noted invention was a method for making coal tar on an industrial scale. He hoped that he would be able to sell this as a sealant for the hulls of ships to the Royal Navy. After contacts with the British Admiralty were made, a test was performed on a buoy. The buoy was coated on one side and left uncoated on the other. After some time the uncoated half was leaking and full of worms and barnacles, while the treated half was in quite good condition. A patent for his invention was drawn up, although all this time the finances were suffering. The family estates were used as collateral. Only there were powerful interests at play, namely involved with shipyards. A coated ship could stay in the water for very long periods without needing timbers replaced, when compared to a normal ship meaning demand for new construction would suffer. The patent expired and the Royal Navy adopted the new mixture and began using it, it was however too late for the earl to benefit financially. His other experiments with alum production, making bread from potatoes, and paint manufacturing also proved unprofitable. His experiments with producing soda from table salt proved more successful but were not enough to reverse his financial misfortunes. He died impoverished in Paris at the age of 83. The earldom of Dundonald passed to his son Thomas Cochrane.

He married three times. His first wife was Anne Gilchrist, daughter of Captain James Gilchrist whom he married in 1774. After her death, he married Isabella Raymond, daughter of Samuel Raymond, in 1788. His third wife was Anna Maria Plowden, daughter of Francis Plowden whom he married in 1819. He had three sons: Thomas Cochrane who was a highly successful Royal Navy officer, William Erskine Cochrane who served in the British Army and Archibald Cochrane who also served in the Royal Navy.His younger brother Sir Alexander Cochrane was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.

Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Thomas Cochrane	Earl of Dundonald 1778–1831	Succeeded by Thomas Cochrane

External links

• Significant Scots - Archibald Cochrane
• Coal Tar before the Invention of Town Gas