Robert Lichton (1631–1692) (a.k.a.: Leighton, Lichtoun, Lichtone, Lyton), Lord of Ulishaven, Forfarshire, Scotland and Lord of Tervik. He was a Lieutenant General in the Swedish Army and President of the Superior Court of Justice (hovrätt) at Åbo.
Robert Lichton was born in 1631 at Humsland in Porvoo parish of the Swedish Empire (now Finland). [1] He was the son of Colonel John Lichtoun of Ulishaven († 1636) and Catharina Gutherie. [2] When his father fell at the Battle of Wittstock during the Thirty Years' War, Robert, while still a child, inherited his estate of Tervik. [1] At the age of fifteen he entered the Swedish Army as a private and a Musketeer and participated in campaigns in Germany, Poland and Denmark. [2] In 1661 Lichton joined the Swedish House of Nobility as a nobleman. [1] He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1675 and created a baron. Lichton was appointed Governor of Estonia (Estland) [3] He received this honor at just age fifty in 1681 while a Major general. [1]
He rose to the rank of Lieutenant general in the Swedish army in 1685 and was appointed President of the Superior Court of Justice at Åbo just two years later. [1] At this same time he was created a Royal Counselor, titled Count and Baron of Ulishaven, Lord of Tervik and of Peraniemi. Lichton greatly distinguished himself at the Battle of the Sound. [4] At the Battle of Lund (1676), brave to the point of being foolhardy he was hit by several bullets, none of which were extracted. [2] Lichton greatly distinguished himself at the Battle of the Sound. [5]
Lichton was extremely strong and had a reputation for having a violent temper. He once had to leave the country after killing a regimental surgeon but was pardoned after paying a substantial fine. [2] In Stockholm in 1667 he attacked a Colonel Bine with sword and pistol, for which he was arrested, but later was allowed to quietly go free with no formal charges. [2] He was made a count by King Charles XI of Sweden in 1687. The King attended Lichton's funeral in person in 1692. [5]
Although born in Sweden Robert identified himself as Scottish. Before Robert was born his father, John Lichton, found himself in financial difficulties owing to his own father's debts. [6] He sold his lands of Ulishaven in Forfarshire to Sir David Carnegie of Kinnaird for £40,000 Scots and paid his father's creditors. [6] He saw an opportunity in becoming a Mercenary for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden to fight in the Thirty Years' War. [6] John Lichton emigrated to Sweden in 1614 where he began his career there as an Ensign in a cavalry regiment. [7]
Sometime after 1675 (as he was at the time a colonel) He petitioned for a "birth brief" to allow him to register his arms with the Lord Lyon King at Edinburgh, which he did. [lower-alpha 1] His arms were: Argent, a Lion Rampant gules, armed and langued azur; crest a palm tree vert; motto: "Per adversa virtus" (courage through adversity). [8] His change in motto from the old "Licht On" was probably in reference to his father's restoring the fortunes of this house. [8]
He was apparently married but had no male issue.
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory. The battle was fought near Branxton, in the county of Northumberland, in northern England, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by the Earl of Surrey. In terms of troop numbers, it was the largest battle ever fought between the two kingdoms.
William Sinclair (1410–1480), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), last Earl (Jarl) of Orkney, 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin was a Norwegian and Scottish nobleman and the builder of Rosslyn Chapel, in Midlothian.
The Jacobite peerage includes those peerages created by James II and VII, and the subsequent Jacobite pretenders, after James's deposition from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These creations were not recognised in English, Scots or Irish law, but the titles were used in Jacobite circles in Continental Europe and recognised by France, Spain and the Papacy.
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothic Revival styles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Sir James Balfour Paul was the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the officer responsible for heraldry in Scotland, from 1890 until the end of 1926.
Arthur Annesley, 11th Viscount Valentia, was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative Party politician. He notably served as Comptroller of the Household between 1898 and 1905.
James Boyd 2nd Lord Boyd was a Scottish peer. He was the grandson and heir of Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd. His parents were Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, and Mary, eldest daughter of King James II. His father Thomas was the eldest son of the 1st Lord Boyd, but died in about 1472 while his father still lived.
General William Maule, 1st Earl Panmure (1700–1782) was a Scottish soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons for 47 years from 1735 to 1782.
Hugh de Morville of Appleby in Westmorland, England, hereditary Constable of Scotland, was a Norman knight who made his fortune in the service of David FitzMalcolm (d.1153), Prince of the Cumbrians, later King of Scotland.
Alexander Leighton was a Scottish medical doctor and puritan preacher and pamphleteer best known for his 1630 pamphlet that attacked the Anglican church and which led to his torture by King Charles I.
Clan Spens or Spence is a Lowland Scottish clan and is also a sept of Clan MacDuff.
Henry de Lichton [de Lychtone, Leighton] was a medieval Scottish prelate and diplomat, who, serving as Bishop of Moray (1414–1422) and Bishop of Aberdeen (1422–1440), became a significant patron of the church, a cathedral builder, and a writer. He also served King James I of Scotland as a diplomat in England, France, and Italy.
James Falconer was a Scottish solicitor and Liberal Party politician.
Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de la Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvigny was a British genealogist and author who was twice president of the Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland. He styled himself the Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval.
David Graham Drummond Ogilvy, 10th Earl of Airlie,, styled Lord Ogilvy from birth until 1849, was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and rancher in Colorado.
Thomas Boyd, 6th Lord Boyd (c. 1547–1611) was a Scottish noble and politician.
Sir Alexander Falconer, 1st Lord Falconer of Halkerton (1595–1671), was a Scottish judge.
John Scrymgeour or Scrimgeour, 1st Viscount of Dudhope was a Scottish politician.
Sir Joseph Murray, 3rd Baronet and 1st Count Murray was a soldier of Scottish descent.
John Strange Jocelyn, 5th Earl of Roden, was an Anglo-Irish soldier and representative peer. He was the son of Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden, and inherited the title after the death of his nephew Robert Jocelyn, 4th Earl of Roden, in 1880.