Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine (icon; 20 July 1766, Broomhall,
FifeFife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
- 14 November 1841, Paris) was a Scottish nobleman and
diplomatA diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, known for the removal of marble sculptures (also known as the
Elgin MarblesThe Parthenon Marbles, forming a part of the collection known as the Elgin Marbles , are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures , inscriptions and architectural members that originally were part of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens...
) from the
ParthenonThe Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...
in
AthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Elgin was the second son of
Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of ElginCharles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and 9th Earl of Kincardine was the son of William Bruce, 8th Earl of Kincardine. His mother was Jane Roberton, daughter of James Roberton and great-granddaughter of advocate and judge Lord BedlayOn 1 June 1759, he married Martha Whyte and they had eight...
and his wife Martha Whyte. He succeeded his older brother William, the 6th earl, in 1771 while he was only five.
Early life
Elgin entered the army as an ensign in the
3rd GuardsThe Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
. He was elected as a Scottish Representative Peer in 1790, remaining one until 1807. In 1791, he was sent as a temporary
envoy-extraordinary to Austria, while
Sir Robert KeithLieutenant-General Sir Robert Murray Keith KB was a British soldier and diplomat.He was born in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Robert Murray Keith and his wife daughter of Sir William Cunningham, 2nd baronet, of Caprington...
was ill. He was then sent as
envoy-extraordinary in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
until the conquest of the Austrian Netherlands by France. After spending time in Britain, he was sent as envoy-extraordinary to Prussia in 1795.
On 11 March 1799, shortly before setting off to serve as ambassador at
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Elgin married
MaryMary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin was the first wife of British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin during his term as Ambassador Extraodinare to the Ottoman Empire and one of the most influential and wealthiest heiresses of the late 18th and early 19th century.-Early life:Mary Hamilton Nisbet...
, daughter and heir of
William Hamilton NisbetWilliam Hamilton Nisbet was a British politician.On 31 January 1777, he married Mary Manners, daughter of Lord Robert Manners. They had one child:...
, of Dirleton;
Elgin was ambassador to the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
between 1799 and 1803; he showed considerable skill and energy in fulfilling a difficult mission, the extension of British influence during the conflict between the Ottoman empire and France.
Elgin Marbles
He had a great enthusiasm for antiquities; one of his projects, as he set out on his embassy, was the collection of antiquities, but also the gathering of first-hand evidence (drawing, casts) for
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
art, especially in Athens, as models for taste and artistic practice in Britain; for which purpose he assembled a team of artists and craftsmen in Italy, on his way to Constantinople. His team of artists in Athens, after some problems, was granted, by means of a firman, free access to the
AcropolisAcropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
, and specifically permission to sketch freely, take casts, carry out digs, and take away inscriptions and reliefs from the site, but, it seems, not the Parthenon itself. The removal of
metopesIn classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order...
,
friezethumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
and pedimental sculpture was a decision taken on the spot by Philip Hunt, Elgin's chaplain (and temporary private secretary, i.e. representative, in Athens), who pressured the voivode (governor of Athens) to interpret the terms of the firman very broadly.
Neither Philip Hunt nor Elgin felt qualms about this. Both were shocked by the indifference of the ruling
OttomansThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
to the worsening condition of the sculptures and Elgin later claimed that he wished to preserve the marbles from destruction in the fighting during the
Greek War of IndependenceThe Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
. His claimed motive in removing them was to preserve them. Indeed during that conflict the Acropolis was besieged twice. The Greeks were aware of the dilemma and chose to offer the besieged Ottoman forces, which were attempting to melt the lead in the columns to cast bullets, bullets of their own if they would leave the Parthenon undamaged.
On the recommendation of a parliamentary committee, which also vindicated Elgin's conduct, the “Marbles” were bought by Great Britain in 1816 for £35,000, considerably below their cost to Elgin (estimated at £75,000) , and deposited in the British Museum, where they remain.
Later career
On his return to Britain, Elgin, finding that he could not get the
British MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
to pay what he was asking for the marbles, sued his wife's lover for an appropriately high sum. He divorced Mary for adultery by legal actions in 1807 and 1808 in the English and Scottish courts—and by act of parliament—which caused much public scandal. He then, on 21 September 1810, married Elizabeth (1790–1860), youngest daughter of
James Townsend OswaldJames Townsend Oswald was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1768 and 1779.Oswald was the son of James Oswald a politician of Kirkcaldy. The Oswald family became the dominant force in Kirkcaldy politics in the 18th century and Dysart, the second largest burgh was...
of Dunnikier. Elgin moved to the European continent.
Family
Elgin married twice. On 11 March 1799, he married
MaryMary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin was the first wife of British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin during his term as Ambassador Extraodinare to the Ottoman Empire and one of the most influential and wealthiest heiresses of the late 18th and early 19th century.-Early life:Mary Hamilton Nisbet...
(1778–1855), only child of
William Hamilton NisbetWilliam Hamilton Nisbet was a British politician.On 31 January 1777, he married Mary Manners, daughter of Lord Robert Manners. They had one child:...
, of Dirleton; They had a son and three daughters:
- George Charles Constantine (1800–1840), died unmarried, known by the courtesy title of Lord Bruce.
- Mary, married on 28 January 1828, Robert Dundas
- Matilda-Harrie, married on 14 October 1839, John Maxwell son of Sir John Maxwell, 7th Baronet
Sir John Maxwell, 7th Baronet, of Pollok was a Member of Parliament for Paisley from 10 December 1832 until resigning in 1834....
- Lucy, married on 14 March 1828, John Grant of Kilgraston.
After their marriage ended in divorce Mary later married
Robert Ferguson of RaithRobert Ferguson of Raith, was at various times a Whig Member of Parliament for Fifeshire, Haddingtonshire and Kirkcaldy Burghs, and at the time of his death he was Lord Lieutenant of the county of Fife.-Biography:...
(1777–1846) who had been cited in the divorce. Elgin on 21 September 1810, married Elizabeth (1790–1860), youngest daughter of
James Townsend OswaldJames Townsend Oswald was a Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1768 and 1779.Oswald was the son of James Oswald a politician of Kirkcaldy. The Oswald family became the dominant force in Kirkcaldy politics in the 18th century and Dysart, the second largest burgh was...
of Dunnikier. They had four sons and three daughters, including:
- James Bruce
Sir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
, who became governor-in-chief of British North AmericaBritish North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
and viceroy of India and succeed to the Earldom.
- Robert (1813), who became a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Grenadier Guards, married Katherine-Mary (d 1869), 2nd daughter of Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart, 6th Baronet.
- Sir Frederick Wright-Bruce
Sir Frederick Wright-Bruce, GCB was a British diplomat.Frederick Bruce was the youngest of the three sons of Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, and his second wife Elizabeth, youngest daughter of James Townshend Oswald of Dunnikier, Fife. He was born at Bromhall, Fife, on 14 April 1814, and on 9 Feb...
(1814), who became a diplomat
- Thomas Charles Bruce
Thomas Charles Bruce was a British barrister and a Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1885....
(1825), who became MP for PortsmouthPortsmouth was a borough constituency based upon the borough of Portsmouth in Hampshire. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.- History :...
- Charlotte-Christian, married on 1 July 1850, to Frederick Locker, grandson of Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Locker
- Auguata-Frederica-Elizabeth.
- Frances-Anne.