James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton

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James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton KT FRS (1702 – 12 October 1768) was a Scottish astronomer and representative peer who was President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh from its foundation in 1737 until his death.^[1] He also became President of the Royal Society (24 March 1764), and was a distinguished patron of science, and particularly of astronomy.

He graduated MA from King's College, Cambridge in 1722.^[2]^[3] In 1746 he visited France, and was imprisoned in the Bastille, probably as a Jacobite.

[edit] See also

Moreton Bay in Queensland, Australia was named after Lord Morton by Captain Cook (the spelling being an error in the published account of Cook's voyage)

^ Emerson, Roger L. (1985). "The Philosophical Society of Edinburgh 1768–1783". The British Journal for the History of Science (Cambridge University Press) 18 (3). http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2929332.
^ Anita Guerrini, ‘Douglas, James, fourteenth earl of Morton (1702–1768)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2005, accessed 26 Aug 2008. So also the original DNB
^ Venn, J.; Venn, J. A., eds. (1922–1958). "Douglas, James". Alumni Cantabrigienses (10 vols) (online ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Masonic offices
Preceded by The Earl of Kintore	Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 1739 – 1740	Succeeded by The Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
Preceded by The Earl of Kintore	Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England 1741 – 1742	Succeeded by The Lord Ward
Political offices
Preceded by Alexander Hume Campbell	Lord Clerk Register 1760 – 1768	Succeeded by Lord Frederick Campbell
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by George Douglas	Earl of Morton 1738 – 1768	Succeeded by Sholto Douglas

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Persondata
Name	Morton, James Douglas, 14th Earl of
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1702
Place of birth
Date of death	12 October 1768
Place of death