Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet

Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet GCSI PC (14 March 1832 – 14 January 1907) was a British soldier, Conservative politician and colonial administrator.

Background and education

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Fergusson was the eldest son of Sir Charles Fergusson, 5th Baronet, and his wife Helen, daughter of David Boyle. He was educated at Cheam, Rugby, and University College, Oxford (although he left without taking a degree). He entered the Grenadier Guards in 1851 and served in the Crimean War where he was wounded. He retired from the army in 1859.

Political and administrative career

Fergusson was elected Member of Parliament for Ayrshire and represented the constituency in parliament from 1854 to 1857 and 1859 to 1868. He was Under-Secretary of State for India under Lord Derby from 1866 to 1867 and Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department from 1867 to 1868 under Derby and Benjamin Disraeli and was admitted to the Privy Council in 1868. He served as Governor of South Australia from 1868 to 1873, as Governor of New Zealand between 1873 and 1874, when he resigned, and as Governor of Bombay between 1880 and 1885. Following his retirement, he returned to the House of Commons, as Member of Parliament for Manchester North East, which he represented between 1885 and 1906. He again held political office as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1886 and 1891 and as Postmaster General between 1891 and 1892 in Lord Salisbury's Conservative administration.

Family

Fergusson married firstly Lady Edith Christian, daughter of James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, in 1859. They had two sons and two daughters. Lady Edith died in October 1871, aged 32. Fergusson married secondly Olive, daughter of John Henry Richman, in 1873. They had one son. She died of cholera in January 1882. He married thirdly Isabella Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Twysden and widow of Charles Hugh Hoare, in 1893. They had no children. Fergusson's son Charles and grandson Bernard Fergusson both became Governors-General of New Zealand. Fergusson was killed in an earthquake in Jamaica in 1907, aged 74.

Legacy

The town of Jamestown, South Australia, Fergusson Island in Papua New Guinea and Fergusson College in Pune (in his day, Poona), India are named in Fergusson's honour.