Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st Earl of Ilay (June 1682 – 15 April 1761) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, lawyer, businessman and soldier. He was known as Lord Archibald Campbell from 1703 to 1706, and as the Earl of Ilay from 1706 until 1743, when he succeeded to the dukedom.

Born in Petersham

Petersham

Petersham is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the River...

, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, he supported his brother, John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll

John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll

Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...

 (on many topics, most notably the Act of Union), earning him the title of Earl of Ilay in 1706. His military career, which was less successful than his brother's, was somewhat distinguished. He obtained the Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

cy of the newly formed 36th Regiment of Foot in 1701 and assisted his brother at the 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir

Battle of Sheriffmuir

The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...

. Four years earlier, he had been appointed to the Privy Council

Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

. Many called him the "most powerful man in Scotland", at least until the era of Henry Dundas.

Lord Ilay was one of the founders of the Royal Bank of Scotland

Royal Bank of Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...

 in 1727, and acted as the bank's first governor. His portrait has appeared on the front of all Royal Bank of Scotland banknotes, and as a watermark

Watermark

A watermark is a recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light , caused by thickness or density variations in the paper...

 on the notes, since they were redesigned in 1987. The portrait is based on a painting by Allan Ramsay, in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery on Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. It holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. In addition it also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection...

.

He succeeded his brother to the title of Duke of Argyll

Duke of Argyll

Duke of Argyll is a title, created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The Earls, Marquesses, and Dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, noble family in Scotland...

 in October 1743. He worked on Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Castle is an estate house near Inveraray in Argyll in western Scotland.It is the seat of the Duke of Argyll and a Category A listed building.-Ghosts:...

, his brother's estate, which was finished in the 1750s; however, he never lived in it, and he died in 1761. He was married to Anne Whitfield about 1712, but had no legitimate male issue at his death. In his will, he left his English property to his mistress Ann (née Shireburn) Williams. His titles passed to his cousin, the son of his father's brother John Campbell of Mamore.

He was the first cousin once removed of Lord William Campbell.

The Duke established an estate at Whitton Park, Whitton

Whitton, London

Whitton is a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, situated 10.7 miles west south-west of Charing Cross in Central London...

 in Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

  in 1722 on land that had been enclosed some years earlier from Hounslow Heath

Hounslow Heath

Hounslow Heath is a public open space and local nature reserve to the west of Hounslow, a London borough. It now covers about , the residue of the historic Hounslow Heath that covered over .-History:...

. The Duke was an enthusiastic gardner and he imported large numbers of exotic species of plants and trees for his estate. He was nicknamed the 'Treemonger' by Horace Walpole. On his death, many of these, including mature trees, were moved by his nephew, the third Earl of Bute to the Princess of Wales' new garden at Kew. This later became Kew Gardens

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

 and some of the Duke's trees are still to be seen there to this day. The Duke of Argyll's Tea Tree

Wolfberry

Wolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum and L. chinense , two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae...

 is an imported shrub named after him which has become established in hedgegrows in some parts of England. One of his descendents, Jenny von Westphalen

Jenny von Westphalen

Baroness Johanna Bertha Julie "Jenny" von Westphalen was the wife of the philosopher Karl Marx. They became engaged in 1836 and married in 1843. They had six children.- Background :...

 was the wife of the famous German philosopher Karl Marx.