Earl of John Dalrymple Stair

Born in 1720, he was the eldest son of George Dalrymple of Dalmahoy and trained first for the law, passing advocate at the Scottish bar in 1741. He then entered the army and reached the rank of captain, reflecting the mix of legal, military, and political life that marked much of the Dalrymple family story.

His path to the earldom was unusually complicated. Favored by his uncle, the 2nd Earl of Stair, he initially assumed the title in 1745, but the House of Lords later awarded it to another branch of the family. He finally became 5th Earl of Stair in 1768, and a few years later was chosen as a Scottish representative peer.

In the House of Lords, he opposed the measures that led toward the American War of Independence and presented a petition on behalf of Massachusetts in 1774. He also wrote a series of pamphlets on public debt, taxation, and state expenditure, whose bleak warnings earned him the nickname "Cassandra of the State." He died on 13 October 1789 and was succeeded by his son, John.