| LC control no. | n 81140068 |
|---|---|
| Descriptive conventions | rda |
| Personal name heading | Elgin, Thomas Bruce, Earl of, 1766-1841 |
| Variant(s) | Bruce, Thomas, Earl of Elgin, 1766-1841 Bruce, Thomas, Earl of Kincardine, 1766-1841 Kincardine, Thomas Bruce, Earl of, 1766-1841 Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of, 1766-1841 |
| Biography/History note | Thomas Bruce, Earl of Elgin (1766-1841) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, soldier, and diplomat. He was the seventh earl of Elgin and eleventh earl of Kincardine, born in the family home Broomhall, in Fife, Scotland, in 1766. In 1785, he joined the army and progressed through the ranks until he was appointed general in 1837. He was elected as a representative peer for Scotland in 1790, a position he held until 1807. He had a long career as a diplomat, serving in Vienna, Brussels, Prussia, and Constantinople. He is perhaps most famous (or infamous) for his decision to commission architectural drawings of classical Greek buildings, which led him to use his diplomatic influence with the Ottoman Empire to remove marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. In 1816, he sold the so-called "Elgin marbles" to the British Museum, resulting in centuries of political controversy. |
| Associated country | Scotland Austria Great Britain France |
| Associated place | Athens (Greece) |
| Located | Istanbul (Turkey) |
| Birth date | 1766-07-20 |
| Death date | 1841-11-14 |
| Place of birth | Fife (Scotland) |
| Place of death | Paris (France) |
| Field of activity | Diplomacy Collectors and collecting Politics |
| Profession or occupation | Diplomats Soldiers Art collectors Politicians |
| Special note | Data contributed by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. |
| Found in | Encyc. Brit., c1977 III, p. 851 (Elgin and Kincardine, earls of: Thomas, 7th earl of, d. 1841) Collier's encyc., c1973, v. 9 (Elgin and Kincardine, Earl of (Thomas Bruce) 1766-1841) BM, 1965: v. 28 (Bruce, Thomas, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine) Oxford dictionary of national biography (online), viewed on May 14, 2020 (Bruce, Thomas, seventh earl of Elgin and eleventh earl of Kincardine; born in family home Broomhall in Fife, Scotland; joined the army in 1785, progressed through ranks and appointed general in 1837; elected as representative peer for Scotland (1790-1807); diplomat sent to Vienna, Brussels, Prussia, Constantinople; commissioned architectural drawings of classical Greek buildings, and controversially used his influence to remove marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens; arrested by French government in 1803 and paroled in 1806; in 1816, sold "Elgin marbles" to the British Museum sparking much artistic inspiration and also centuries of political controversy) Wikipedia (online), viewed on May 14, 2020 (Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine; Scottish nobleman, politician, diplomat; known for controversially removing marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens; born July 20, 1766, died November 14, 1841) <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bruce,_7th_Earl_of_Elgin> |
 |  |  |
View this record in: MARCXML | LC Authorities & Vocabularies | VIAF (Virtual International Authority File)
