Papers of the Earl of Morton, 1745-1807Morton, James Douglas, Earl of, 1702-1768engfreThe collection contains scientific, political and personal correspondence of the Earl of Morton and the first Lady Morton; a travel diary kept by Sholto, Lord Morton in 1784; and a few folders of letters to George Douglas, Earl of Morton (1761-1827). Scientific correspondents include Duhamel du Monceau; Buffon; Pierre-Charles and Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier; Réaumur; Samuel König; and close friend Colin Maclaurin. Subjects discussed include a gift of Scottish pineseeds to Buffon; attempts to observe the 1748 solar eclipse and improvements to telescopes; and the flora and fauna of the OrkneysOther correspondents include Madame Geoffrin; the artist Benjamin West; Montesquieu; Sir Robert Walpole; the comte Saint-Germain; and Alexander Monro. Letters from vaious Douglas relatives and friends document Morton's arrest and imprisonment in the Bastille, while letters by Sir Matthew Decker, Francis Farquharson, Sir James Kinloch, and Lord Prestongrange concern the 1745 rebellion and its aftermath. Letters to Agatha Lady Morton from William Douglas and his wife also discuss the position of the Jacobites after the risingJames Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton (1702-1768) was educated in Edinburgh and at King's College, Cambridge. An amateur scientist and mathematician, Morton was the first President of the Edinburgh Society for Improving the Arts and Sciences; served as President of the Royal Society from 1764-1768; was one of eight foreign members of the Académie française; and may have served as one of the first trustees of the British Museum.Morton married Agatha Halyburton of Pitcur in 1731; only two of their children reached adulthood. While traveling in France in 1745, he and his family were imprisoned in the Bastille, from which Morton was not released for several weeks. He also served as Keeper of the Records of Scotland, and was drawing up a plan for the better preservation of the archives when he died on October 12, 1768, at Chiswick. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sholto Charles Douglas, who died at Taormina in 1774.Accompanied by a container list.In French and English.