Lieutenant The Right Honourable
The Earl of Leven
Representative Peer for Scotland
In office
15 December 1910 – 11 June 1913
Personal details
Born
John David Leslie-Melville

(1886-04-05)5 April 1886
Died11 June 1913(1913-06-11) (aged 27)
London, England
RelationsArchibald Leslie-Melville, 13th Earl of Leven (brother)
Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman (grandfather)
Parent(s)Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven
Hon. Emma Selina Portman
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
Military service
Branch/serviceLovat Scouts
RankLieutenant

John David Leslie-Melville, 12th Earl of Leven (5 April 1886 – 11 June 1913) (known as Lord Balgonie from 1889 to 1906) was a Scottish soldier and banker who served as a Representative peer.

Early life

Leslie-Melville was born on 5 April 1886. He was the eldest son of Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven and the former Emma Selina Portman (1863–1941).[1] His siblings were Hon. Archibald Alexander Leslie-Melville, Capt. Hon. David William Leslie-Melville, Lt.-Col. Hon. Ian Leslie-Melville, and Lady Constance Betty Leslie-Melville.[2] His father was a very wealthy landowner and resided at Holyrood Palace when he was Lord High Commissioner of Scotland.[3]

His paternal grandparents were John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven and the former Sophia Thornton (a daughter of abolitionist Henry Thornton MP). His maternal grandfather was Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman.[2]

He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he used to hunt with the Bicester Hounds.[4]

Career

Lord Leven was a Lieutenant in the Lovat Scouts Yeomanry in the British Army. He served as a Representative Peer for Scotland from 1910 until his death in June 1913.[2] He was also a member of the London banking firm of Frederick Huth & Co.[5]

Upon his father's death on 21 August 1906,[6] he succeeded as the Viscount of Kirkaldie, the Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie, the Earl of Melville, the Earl of Leven, the Lord Melville of Monymaill, the Lord Balgonie.[2] Lord Leven was required to pay death duties of $1,250,000 on the estate, which exceeded $6,500,000. Reportedly, the "depletion of the estate so impressed the successor to it that he insured his life for the benefit of the estate."[7]

Personal life

Lord Leven died, unmarried, on 11 June 1913, "caused by injuries sustained in the hunting field",[5] which was later determined to be "an accidental death".[8] His funeral was held in Scotland,[9] and his titles passed to his younger brother, Archibald.[2] The death duties of over $600,000 were met by the insurance taken out upon his succession to the title.[7] A year later, his brother, a Lieutenant in the Second Dragoons, Royal Scots Greys, was wounded during the "cavalry fight in Waterloo".[10] Lord Leven was left behind when his regiment retreated and later escaped from a German prison disguised as a refugee.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Wireless to THE NEW YORK TIMES (4 March 1941). "Dowager Countess of Leven Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 2, page 2314.
  3. ↑ TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (8 September 1907). "WANT HOLYROOD CHAPEL RESTORED; Prominent Scotsmen May Bring a Lawsuit to Effect This Object. A SCHEME OF LORD LEVEN He Left Money for the Purpose, but His Trustees Have Not Undertaken to Carry It Out". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "TWO PEERS DEAD THE EARL OF LEVEN AND MELVILLE AND LORD STAFFORD". Evening Standard. 12 June 1913. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 "New Earl of Melville". The Washington Post. 21 June 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Earl of Leven and Melville". The New York Times. 23 August 1906. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. 1 2 "INHERITANCE TAX HARDSHIPS". The New York Times. 23 July 1913. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "THE LATE EARL OF LEVEN. CURIOUS MEDICAL EVIDENCE AT INQUEST". The Observer. 15 June 1913. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "LATE EARL OF LEVEL AND MELVILLE". Evening Standard. 16 June 1913. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "THE EARL OF LEVEN WOUNDED IN CHARGE; Is a Lieutenant in the Scots Greys ;- Captain and Sergeant Complete First Casualty List". The New York Times. 25 August 1914. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "LORD LEVEN ESCAPES FROM GERMAN PRISON; Wounded, He Crosses Belgium Disguised as a Refugee, Returning Home via Holland". The New York Times. 17 December 1914. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
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