William Patrick Adam

The Right Honourable

William Patrick Adam

CIE DL

"The Past"
Adam as caricatured by Ape (Carlo Pellegrini) in Vanity Fair, June 1874

First Commissioner of Works
In office
11 August 1873 – 17 February 1874
Monarch| Victoria
Prime Minister| William Gladstone
Preceded by| Acton Smee Ayrton
Succeeded by| Lord Henry Lennox
In office
3 May 1880 – 1880
Monarch| Victoria
Prime Minister| William Gladstone
Preceded by| Hon. Gerard Noel
Succeeded by| George Shaw-Lefevre
Paymaster-General
In office
30 September 1873 – 17 February 1874
Monarch| Victoria
Prime Minister| William Gladstone
Preceded by| Hugh Childers
Succeeded by| Stephen Cave
Governor of Madras Presidency
In office
20 December 1880 – 24 May 1881
Preceded by| The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
Succeeded by| William Huddleston (acting)
Personal details
Born| 14 September 1823 (1823-09-14)
Died| 24 May 1881 (1881-05-25) (aged 57)
Ooty, British India
Nationality| British
Political party| Liberal
Spouse| Emily Wyllie (1838–1906)
Alma mater| Trinity College, Cambridge

William Patrick Adam, CIE, DL (14 September 1823 – 24 May 1881) was a British colonial administrator and Liberal politician. He was twice First Commissioner of Works under William Gladstone and also served briefly as Governor of Madras between 1880 and 1881.

## Background and education[edit]

Adam was the son of Admiral Sir Charles Adam, son of William Adam, only surviving son of the architect John Adam, brother of architects Robert Adam and James Adam. His mother was Elizabeth Brydone, daughter of Patrick Brydone, while John Adam and Sir Frederick Adam were his uncles.[1][2] He was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was called to the Bar, Inner Temple, in 1849.[3]

## Political career[edit]

Adam was secretary to the Governor of Bombay, Lord Elphinstone (his second cousin), from 1853 to 1858.[1] In 1859 he was elected Member of Parliament for Clackmannan and Kinross, a seat he held until 1880.[4] He served as a Lord of the Treasury under Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell from 1865 to 1866 and under Gladstone from 1868 to 1873.[1] In August 1873 he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed First Commissioner of Works by Gladstone.[5] In September of the same year he was given the additional post of Paymaster-General, and retained both offices until the fall of the Gladstone government in February 1874.

Between 1874 and 1880 Adam was a Liberal whip. When the Liberals returned to power under Gladstone in May 1880, he was once again made First Commissioner of Works.[6] In December 1880 he was appointed Governor of Madras, which he remained until his death in May of the following year.

Adam was also the author of Thoughts on Policy of Retaliation[7] and served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Kinross-shire and Fife.[1]

## Personal life[edit]

Adam married Emily, daughter of General Sir William Wyllie, in 1856. They had several children. Adam died in May 1881, aged 57,[1] in Ooty, British India, where he was also buried.[8][9] His wife Emily was awarded the Order of the Crown of India in October 1881.[10] In 1882 their eldest son Charles Adam was created a baronet, of Blair Adam in the County of Kinross, in honour of his father (see Adam baronets) and the same year Emily Adam was granted the precedence of a baronet's wife. She died in November 1906.[1]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Beauclerk Dewar, Peter. Burke's landed gentry of Great Britain, 19th edition. Wilmington, Delaware: Burke's Peerage and Gentry LLC, 2001.
2. ^ Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). "Adam, William Patrick" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1\. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
3. ^ "Adam, William Patrick (ADN841WP)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
4. ^ leighrayment.com House of Commons: Chichester to Clitheroe[Usurped!]
5. ^ "No. 24007". The London Gazette. 12 August 1873. p. 3769.
6. ^ "No. 24841". The London Gazette. 4 May 1880. p. 2836.
7. ^ The New York Times 9 August 1873: "Mr Ayrton's successor".
8. ^ travel.mapsofindia.com Tourist attractions in Ooty
9. ^ destinationsindia.com Ooty Tourism
10. ^ "No. 25029". The London Gazette. 21 October 1881. p. 5191.

## External links[edit]

* Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by William Patrick Adam

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

Viscount Melgund

|  Member of Parliament for Clackmannan and Kinross
1859-1880  | Succeeded by

John Balfour

Political offices
Preceded by

Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen
Sir William Dunbar, Bt
Hon. Luke White

|  Lord of the Treasury
1865-1866
With:  Hon. Luke White 1865-1866
John Bonham-Carter 1866
John Esmonde 1866  | Succeeded by

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Sir Graham Graham-Montgomery, Bt
Henry Whitmore

Preceded by

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Henry Whitmore
Lord Claud Hamilton

|  Lord of the Treasury
1868-1873
With:  James Stansfeld 1868-1869
The Marquess of Lansdowne 1868-1872
John Cranch Walker Vivian 1868-1870
William Henry Gladstone 1869-1873  | Succeeded by

William Henry Gladstone
Lord Frederick Cavendish
Hon. Algernon Greville

Preceded by

Acton Smee Ayrton

|  First Commissioner of Works
1873-1874  | Succeeded by

Lord Henry Lennox

Preceded by

Hugh Childers

|  Paymaster-General
1873-1874  | Succeeded by

Stephen Cave

Preceded by

Hon. Gerard Noel

|  First Commissioner of Works
1880  | Succeeded by

George Shaw-Lefevre

Government offices
Preceded by

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|  Governor of Madras
1880-1881  | Succeeded by

William Huddleston (acting)

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