The Earl of Leven | |
---|---|
Representative Peer for Scotland | |
In office 15 December 1910 – 11 June 1913 | |
Personal details | |
Born | John David Leslie-Melville 5 April 1886 |
Died | 11 June 1913 London, England | (aged 27)
Relations | Archibald Leslie-Melville, 13th Earl of Leven (brother) Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman (grandfather) |
Parent(s) | Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven Hon. Emma Selina Portman |
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
Military service | |
Branch/service | Lovat Scouts |
Rank | Lieutenant |
John David Leslie-Melville, 12th Earl of Leven (5 April 1886 – 11 June 1913) (known as Lord Balgonie from 1889 to 1906) was a Scottish soldier and banker who served as a Representative peer.
Leslie-Melville was born on 5 April 1886. He was the eldest son of Ronald Leslie-Melville, 11th Earl of Leven and the former Emma Selina Portman (1863–1941).[1] His siblings were Hon. Archibald Alexander Leslie-Melville, Capt. Hon. David William Leslie-Melville, Lt.-Col. Hon. Ian Leslie-Melville, and Lady Constance Betty Leslie-Melville.[2] His father was a very wealthy landowner and resided at Holyrood Palace when he was Lord High Commissioner of Scotland.[3]
His paternal grandparents were John Thornton Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven and the former Sophia Thornton (a daughter of abolitionist Henry Thornton MP). His maternal grandfather was Henry Portman, 2nd Viscount Portman.[2]
He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, where he used to hunt with the Bicester Hounds.[4]
Lord Leven was a Lieutenant in the Lovat Scouts Yeomanry in the British Army. He served as a Representative Peer for Scotland from 1910 until his death in June 1913.[2] He was also a member of the London banking firm of Frederick Huth & Co.[5]
Upon his father's death on 21 August 1906,[6] he succeeded as the Viscount of Kirkaldie, the Lord Raith, Monymaill and Balwearie, the Earl of Melville, the Earl of Leven, the Lord Melville of Monymaill, the Lord Balgonie.[2] Lord Leven was required to pay death duties of $1,250,000 on the estate, which exceeded $6,500,000. Reportedly, the "depletion of the estate so impressed the successor to it that he insured his life for the benefit of the estate."[7]
Lord Leven died, unmarried, on 11 June 1913, "caused by injuries sustained in the hunting field",[5] which was later determined to be "an accidental death".[8] His funeral was held in Scotland,[9] and his titles passed to his younger brother, Archibald.[2] The death duties of over $600,000 were met by the insurance taken out upon his succession to the title.[7] A year later, his brother, a Lieutenant in the Second Dragoons, Royal Scots Greys, was wounded during the "cavalry fight in Waterloo".[10] Lord Leven was left behind when his regiment retreated and later escaped from a German prison disguised as a refugee.[11]