{{Short description|Scottish merchant (1746-1805)}} {{Other people|David Scott}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} [[File:Portrait of David Scott, Esq., of Dunniald (by George Romney).jpg|thumb|right|David Scott, Esq., of Dunniald. Painting by [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]], 1773-1774.]] '''David Scott''' (27 February 1746 – 4 October 1805)<ref name="rayment-f">{{Rayment-hc|f|date=March 2012}}</ref> of [[Dunninald Castle]], [[Angus, Scotland|Angus]], was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] merchant and director of the [[East India Company]], and a [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP). He sat in the [[House of Commons of Great Britain]] from 1790 to 1800, and in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]] until his death.
== Career == Scott was born in early 1746 at the family home, [[Dunninald Castle|Dunninald House]] in the parish of Craig, [[Angus, Scotland|Angus]] to Robert Scott (1705–1780), the laird of Dunninald, and his wife, Ann.<ref name="DNB">{{cite ODNB |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/63537 |title=Scott, David (1746–1805) |last=Nightingale |first=Pamela |year=2004 |accessdate=13 November 2010 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/63537 }}</ref> He was educated at the [[University of St Andrews]], before seeking his fortune in India. He built up a substantial merchant business in [[Mumbai|Bombay]] before moving to London in 1786 to direct the English end of his business. He became a director of the [[East India Company]] in 1788.<ref name="DNB" />
In 1785 Scott helped [[James Charles Stuart Strange]] in a [[maritime fur trade]]. Strange commanded two ships that sailed from India to the [[Pacific Northwest]] Coast, collected [[sea otter]] furs, then sail to [[Guangzhou]] (Canton), China, to sell the furs for a large profit. [[James Cook|Captain Cook's]] last voyage had demonstrated the potential for such a venture. Although the expedition was a commercial failure it explored and made discoveries in the Pacific Northwest, whose geography was only poorly understood at the time. In particular Strange and his captains explored the northern end of [[Vancouver Island]], and discovered and named [[Queen Charlotte Sound (Canada)|Queen Charlotte Sound]] and [[Queen Charlotte Strait]].<ref name=gough>{{cite book|last=Gough|first=Barry M.|title=The Northwest Coast: British Navigation, Trade and Discoveries to 1812|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VcaazLIC7lgC&pg=PA78|year=2011|publisher=University of British Columbia Press|isbn=978-0-7748-4292-1|pages=78–79}}</ref> They named the northwest extremity of Vancouver Island [[Cape Scott Provincial Park|Cape Scott]], in honor of David Scott.<ref>{{BCGNIS|40836|Cape Scott}}</ref>
[[File:Tilly Kettle - David Scott, 1746 - 1805. Merchant and Director of the East India Company - PG 3737 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg|thumb|right|David Scott, Merchant and Director of the East India Company. Painting by [[Tilly Kettle]], c. 1775.]]
== Parliament == At the [[1790 British general election|1790 general election]] he was elected unopposed<ref name="stooks-smith">{{cite book |last=Stooks Smith |first=Henry. |editor=Craig, F. W. S. |editor-link=F. W. S. Craig |title=The Parliaments of England |orig-year=1844-1850 |edition=2nd |year=1973 |publisher=Parliamentary Research Services |location=Chichester |isbn=0-900178-13-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/parliamentsofeng0000smit/page/647 647] |title-link=The Parliaments of England }}</ref> as the MP for [[Forfar (UK Parliament constituency)|Forfarshire]],<ref name="rayment-f" /> but resigned that seat in early 1796 to contest a by-election in the [[Perth Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Perth Burghs]], where he was returned unopposed in March 1796.<ref>Stooks Smith, page 675</ref> He was re-elected at the [[1796 British general election|general election later in 1796]], and held the seat until his death<ref>{{Rayment-hc|p|1|date=March 2012}}</ref> in [[Cheltenham]] on 4 October 1805, aged 59, after a long and severe illness.<ref name="times-death">{{cite news |title=Deaths |date=9 October 1805 |work=[[The Times]] |pages=4, col A |location=London }}</ref>
His son [[Sir David Scott, 2nd Baronet|David Scott]] (1782–1851), who inherited [[Dunninald Castle|Dunninald]], had hoped to succeed his father as MP for Perth Burghs. However, by the time the younger Scott left his father's deathbed, [[Sir David Wedderburn, 1st Baronet|Sir David Wedderburn]] had already secured so much support that even the backing of [[Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville|Lord Melville]] was unable to prevent defeat.<ref name="histparl-perth-burghs-1820-32" />
Young David went on to become a director of the [[East India Company]] in 1814, and in 1819 he inherited a baronetcy from his uncle [[Sir James Sibbald Scott, 1st Baronet|James Sibbald Scott]].<ref name="histparl-david-scott-d1851" />
==References== {{Reflist | refs =
<ref name="histparl-perth-burghs-1820-32">{{cite web | first = Margaret | last = Escott | title = Perth Burghs | url = http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/constituencies/perth-burghs | work = The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832 | editor = D.R. Fisher | publisher = Cambridge University Press | access-date = 1 July 2014 | year = 2009 }}</ref>
<ref name="histparl-david-scott-d1851">{{cite web | first = R. G. | last = Thorne | title = SCOTT, David II (1782-1851), of Dunninald, Forfar. | url = http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1790-1820/member/scott-david-ii-1782-1851 | work = The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820 | editor = R. Thorne | publisher = Boydell and Brewer | access-date = 1 July 2014 | year = 1986 }}</ref>
}} <!-- end of refs -->
== External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-david-scott | David Scott }}
{{S-start}} {{S-par|gb}} {{S-bef| before = [[Archibald Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas|Archibald Douglas]] }} {{S-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Forfarshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Forfarshire]] | years = [[1790 British general election|1790]]–[[1796 Forfarshire by-election|1796]] }} {{S-aft| after = [[William Maule, 1st Baron Panmure|William Maule]] }}
{{S-bef| before = [[George Murray (MP)|George Murray]] }} {{S-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Perth Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Perth Burghs]] | years = [[1796 Perth Burghs by-election|1796]]–[[1801 United Kingdom general election|1800]] }} {{S-aft| after = Parliament of the United Kingdom }} {{S-par|uk}} {{S-bef| before = Parliament of Great Britain }} {{S-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Perth Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)|Perth Burghs]] | years = [[1801 United Kingdom general election|1801]]–[[1805 Perth Burghs by-election|1805]] }} {{S-aft| after = [[Sir David Wedderburn, 1st Baronet|Sir David Wedderburn, Bt]] }} {{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, David}} [[Category:1746 births]] [[Category:1805 deaths]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of St Andrews]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies]] [[Category:British MPs 1790–1796]] [[Category:British MPs 1796–1800]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dundee constituencies]] [[Category:UK MPs 1801–1802]] [[Category:UK MPs 1802–1806]] [[Category:Scottish businesspeople]] [[Category:Directors of the British East India Company]]