George Drummond (1688-1766) was accountant-general of excise in Scotland and a local politician, elected Lord Provost of Edinburgh a number of times between 1725 and 1764. Year 1766 ( MDCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities in Scotland. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow.
Drummond was born in Blairgowrie, Perthshire. Blairgowrie and Rattray ( Blàr Ghobharaidh and Raitear in Gaelic Blairgowrie - likely Scottish Gaelic Blàr Ghobharaidh and Rattray - possibly Perthshire ( Siorrachd Pheairt in Gaelic) officially the County of Perth, is a Registration county in central Scotland. He was educated at the High School in Edinburgh and began his career as an accountant, working on the financial details of the Act of Union (1707). The Royal High School (RHS of Edinburgh can trace its roots back to 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed during 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland to put into He was a strong opponent of Jacobitism, and fought against John Erskine (1675 - 1732), the 6th Earl of Mar, at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. Jacobitism was (and to a limited extent remains the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland John Erskine 22nd and de jure 6th Earl of Mar, KT (1675 - May 1732 Scottish Jacobite, was the eldest son of the 21st Earl of Mar The Mormaer or Earl of Mar was the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland The Battle of Sheriffmuir ( Scottish Gaelic:) was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and He also raised a company of volunteers to try to defend the city of Edinburgh against the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. For the US politician see Charles E Stuart For "Betty Burke" see The 'Forty-Five' below The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings rebellions and wars in the kingdoms of England, Kingdom of Scotland (later the United Kingdom of Great Britain
Drummond first joined the Edinburgh Town Council in 1716. He raised funds to build the Royal Infirmary, designed by William Adam in 1738, which quickly became one of the world's foremost teaching hospitals. The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, often colloquially referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, established in 1729 is the oldest Voluntary hospital William Adam (1689 &ndash 24 June 1748 was a Scottish Architect, mason, and Entrepreneur. In 1760 he was responsible for commissioning the Royal Exchange, which later became the Edinburgh City Chambers. He was also a great supporter of the University of Edinburgh, encouraging its enlargement and establishing five chairs of medicine. The University of Edinburgh (Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann founded in 1582 is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Drummond is best known as the driving force behind the building of Edinburgh's 'New Town'. The New Town, a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning and is a UNESCO His aim was to overcome the unhealthy and overcrowded conditions of the Old Town. The Old Town of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1766 he persuaded the Town Council to support an ambitious plan for a grand extension to the city on its north side and to hold a competition for the design. The competition was won by the young architect James Craig who was then only 21. James Craig ( 31 October 1739 &ndash 23 June 1795) was a Scottish Architect. In 1759 Drummond also had the insanitary Nor' Loch drained and identified the need for the North Bridge as the gateway to the New Town, laying its foundation stone in 1763. The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a Loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied
Drummond was also a Freemason and was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in the year 1752-53. The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland was founded in 1736 – although in fact only about a third of all lodges were represented at the foundation
Drummond is buried in the churchyard of the Canongate Kirk his name being remembered in Drummond Place, the street in his New Town where he had a fine mansion, and Drummond Street, next to the site previously occupied by the Royal Infirmary. The Kirk of the Canongate - or Canongate Kirk - serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh 's Old Town, in Scotland
References
- Alexander Murdoch, ‘Drummond, George (1687–1766)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004