Alexander Bruce (1629 - 1681)

Born 1629 in Kincardineshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1681 at about age 52 in Scotland

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Biography

Alexander was a Scottish inventor, politician and Judge. In collaboration with Christiaan Huygens, invented the first marine pendulum clock. On 20 Jun 1667 he was appointed Treasurer of Scotland. In that same year he was named Extraordinary Lord of Session. He was one of the Committee of 12 that led to the formation of the Royal Society of London.

His grandfather, Sir George Bruce, had built up a fortune in coal-mining and salt-production building Culross Palace in Fife, Scotland.

In 1659 he married Veronica Van Sommelsdijck (sister of Cornelius, Gov. of Suriname) - parents of five children, including Mary, Elizabeth, Charles and Alexander Bruce.

Alexander was a Loyalist, who followed Charles II into exile with the court during the last years of the Commonwealth, he received the rewards of loyalty at the Restoration: appointment to the Privy Council and the gift of the salt excise for Scotland Other offices followed, and he continued to be active in Scottish politics until the late 1670s.

He died shortly after the death of the apparent heir Charles, Lord Bruce.

His second son Alexander succeeded him as 3rd Earl of Kincardine. ^[1] Name: David Boswell Event Type: Christening Event Date: 11 Jan 1706 Event Place: Auchinleck, Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom Event Place (Original): Auchinleck, Ayr, Scotland Gender: Male Father's Name: James Laird Auchinleck Boswell Mother's Name: Elizabeth Lady Bruce Paternal Grandfather's Name: David Boswell Paternal Grandmother's Name: Anne Hamilton Maternal Grandfather's Name: Alexander Earl Kincardine Bruce Maternal Grandmother's Name: Veronica Van Arsen Van Somelsyke ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ The Boswell Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, GEN MSS 89. Boxes 99-103
2. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XYSR-HMG

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Bruce,_2nd_Earl_of_Kincardine