James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, was a British colonial administrator and diplomat. He served as Governor of Jamaica (1842–1846), Governor General of the Province of Canada (1847–1854), and Viceroy of India (1862–1863). In 1857, he was appointed High Commissioner and Plenipotentiary in China and the Far East to assist in the process of opening up China and Japan to Western trade. In 1860, during the Second Opium War in China, he ordered the destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, an architectural wonder with immeasurable collections of artworks and historic antiques, inflicting incalculable loss of cultural heritage.
Subsequently, he compelled the Qing dynasty to sign the Convention of Peking, adding Kowloon Peninsula to the British crown colony of Hong Kong.
The 8th Earl of Elgin, c. 1860
Statue of Elgin in front of the Parliament Building in Quebec
Entry of Lord Elgin into Peking, 1860
Lord Elgin's procession in Peking.
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland.
The coat of arms of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, above the entrance to the former National Museum of Antiquities, at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, the former prime minister, was elected the first President of the Society in 1780.