Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway
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Charles Benjamin Bright McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway, PC, QC (12 May 1850 – 23 January 1934) was a Scottish Liberal politician and jurist.
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[edit] Education
Born in Edinburgh, McLaren was the son of Duncan McLaren and Priscilla Bright, the sister of John Bright. McLaren was educated at the Heidelberg University, Bonn University and Edinburgh University, from which he graduated with the degree of Master of Arts.
[edit] Career
He began his career in journalism, but turned to the law and in 1874, he was admitted to Lincoln's Inn as a barrister. In 1880, he was elected to the House of Commons as MP for Stafford; he served that constituency until 1886. In 1892, he returned to the Commons as MP for Bosworth, which he represented until 1910.
McLaren's political career advanced during his second term. In 1897, he was appointed a Queen's Counsel[1], and, in 1902, became Sir Charles McLaren, Baronet of Bodnant, in the county of Denbigh[2]. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1908, and held the office of Justice of the Peace in Middlesex, Flint, Denbighshire, and Surrey. In 1911, a year after he left the Commons (his son replaced him), he was created Baron Aberconway in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
His father-in-law, a noted industrialist, died in 1895, and McLaren became increasingly involved in the management of the companies inherited from him. He would become chairman of the Tredegar Iron and Coal Company and several others.
Lord Aberconway received various honours throughout his life, including:
- Order of the Sacred Treasure (Japan) (3rd class)
- Order of Takova (Serbia)
- Commander Order of the Redeemer (Greece).
[edit] Family
On March 6, 1877, he married Laura Elizabeth Pochin (d. 1933), the daughter of Henry Davis Pochin, in Westminster. The couple had four children:
- Henry McLaren, 2nd Baron Aberconway (1879–1953)
- Hon. Florence Priscilla McLaren (1881–1964), married Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet
- Hon. Elsie Dorothea McLaren (c.1884 – 15 May 1973), married Sir Edward Johnson-Ferguson, 2nd Baronet
- Lt. Hon. Francis Walter Stafford McLaren (June 16, 1886 – 30 August 1917), married Barbara Jekyll and had issue.
He and his wife were friends of James McNeill Whistler and owned several of his works.
On his death in 1934, in Belgrave Square, London, the barony and baronetcy passed to his eldest son, Henry McLaren.
[edit] External links
- Portraits of Charles Benjamin Bright McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway at the National Portrait Gallery, London
[edit] References
- ^ London Gazette: no. 26856, page 2928, 1897-05-25.
- ^ London Gazette: no. 27457, page 4738, 1902-07-25.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Salt Alexander MacDonald |
Member of Parliament for Stafford with Alexander Macdonald 1880–1881 Thomas Salt 1881–1885 1880–1886 |
Succeeded by Thomas Salt |
| Preceded by James Ellis |
Member of Parliament for Bosworth 1892–December 1910 |
Succeeded by Henry McLaren |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Aberconway 1911–1934 |
Succeeded by Henry McLaren |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Bodnant, Denbigh) 1902–1934 |
Succeeded by Henry McLaren |
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