Robert Murray Keith

Last updated

Robert Murray Keith (died 1774) was a British diplomat. He was descended from a younger son of the 2nd Earl Marischal.

Keith was minister in Vienna in 1748 and from 1753 Minister-plenipotentiary. In 1757, he transferred to St. Petersburg (arriving in 1758) and remained there until October 1762, when the imperial government requested that he be replaced by a nobleman. He then retired to live at the Hermitage near Edinburgh, and subsequently held other important diplomatic appointments, being known to his numerous friends, among whom were the leading men of letters of his time, as "Ambassador Keith." [1]

In 1772, George III sent Robert Murray Keith to negotiate for the release of his sister Caroline Matilda, Queen of Denmark, from imprisonment. Keith succeeded in his mission and on 28 May 1772 the Queen was deported from Denmark on board a British frigate which took her to Celle Castle in her brother's German territory of Hanover. [2]

Keith married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Cunningham, 2nd baronet, of Caprington before 1730 when their son Robert Murray Keith (the younger) was born. Another son was Sir Basil Keith, a naval officer and Governor of Gibraltar.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto</span> British diplomat and politician (1751–1814)

Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto,, known as Sir Gilbert Elliott, 4th Baronet until 1797, and The Lord Minto from 1797 to 1814, was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1776 and 1795. He was viceroy of the short-lived Anglo-Corsican Kingdom from 1793 to 1796 and went on to become Governor-General of India between July 1807 and 1813.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Naunton</span> English writer and politician

Sir Robert Naunton was an English writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1606 and 1626.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope</span> British scientist (1753–1816)

Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl Stanhope, aka Charles Mahon, 3rd Earl Stanhope, FRS, was a British statesman, inventor, and scientist. He was the father of Lady Hester Stanhope and brother-in-law of William Pitt the Younger. He is sometimes confused with an exact contemporary of his, Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton</span> 11th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1768 to 1770

Augustus Henry FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton,, styled Earl of Euston between 1747 and 1757, was a British Whig statesman of the Georgian era. He is one of a handful of dukes who have served as prime minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham</span> British politician (1753–1813)

George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham,, known as George Grenville before 1779 and as The Earl Temple between 1779 and 1784, was a British statesman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool</span> British noble and statesman

Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool, PC, known as Lord Hawkesbury between 1786 and 1796, was a British statesman. He was the father of Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury</span>

James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury, GCB was an English diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Harris (grammarian)</span> English politician and grammarian, 1709–1780

James Harris, FRS was an English politician and grammarian. He was the author of Hermes, a philosophical inquiry concerning universal grammar (1751).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathaniel Wraxall</span> English politician (1751–1831)

Sir Nathaniel William Wraxall, 1st Baronet was an English author and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland</span> British diplomat and politician

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, PC (Ire), FRS was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1793.

William Yates Peel, was a British Tory politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Faithorne</span> English artist and engraver (1616–1691)

William Faithorne, often "the Elder", was an English painter and engraver.

Michael Angelo Taylor was an English politician and MP for Poole. He favored parliamentary reform and was made a privy councillor in 1831.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe</span> Scottish nobleman

Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe was a Scottish nobleman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet</span> English bishop (1650–1721)

Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet was an English Bishop of Bristol, Bishop of Exeter and Bishop of Winchester. Trelawny is best known for his role in the events leading up to the Glorious Revolution which are sometimes believed to be referenced in the Cornish anthem "The Song of the Western Men".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas M'Crie the Elder</span> 18th/19th-century Scottish preacher

Thomas M'Crie was a Scottish biographer and ecclesiastical historian, writer, and preacher born in the town of Duns, and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He became the leading minister of the Original Secession Church. His work: "Life of Knox" (1813) was a means of vindicating the Scottish reformer John Knox who was a unpopular figure at the time. It was followed by a "Life of Andrew Melville" (1819). Melville was Knox's successor as the leader of the Reformers in Scotland. M'Crie also published histories of the Reformation in Italy and Spain. He received an honorary degree of D.D. in 1813, the first Secession minister to receive such an award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Murray Keith (the younger)</span> British soldier, diplomat and politician

Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Murray Keith KCB PC FRSE was a British soldier, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1775 to 1780.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thomas (bishop of Rochester)</span>

John Thomas was an English churchman, Bishop of Rochester from 1774.

Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet, was a British banker and Member of Parliament.

References

  1. Chisholm 1911.
  2. Thomas Campbell, ed. New monthly magazine, vol. 85, p. 433
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by British Minister in Austria
1748–1757
Succeeded by
Preceded by Ambassador to Russia
1758–1762
Succeeded by
Preceded by British Minister to Saxony
1767–1771
Succeeded by