Cochrane, Archibald, 9th Earl of Dundonald (1748-1831)

Cochrane, Archibald, 9th Earl of Dundonald

NOBLEMAN, INVENTOR, CHEMICAL MANUFACTURER (SCOTLAND)

BORN 1 Jan 1748 - DIED 1 Jul 1831, Paris
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 53)

Archibald Cochrane was the son of Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald (1691-1778). His mother Jean Stuart (1722-1723/1808) was highly interested in technical subjects. He served in the army and in the navy. After the death of father he became the 9th Earl of Dundonald and he returned to Culross Abbey in 1778. In 1774 he had married Anne Gilchrist, the daughter of Captain James Gilchrist.

He had inherited land but no money and he became an inventor. In 1781 he patented a method for making coal tar on an industrial scale. In 1784 he was elected into the Royal Society of Edinburgh with James Hutton and Adam Smith as his proposers. In 1790 he experimented with the production of synthetic soda from salt with John and William Losh at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He foresaw the possibility of gas lighting but he didn't pursue this idea.

After his wife died, he married the widow Isabella Mayne in 1788. His third wife became Anna Maria Plowden, the daughter of the barrister Francis Plowden, in 1819. He died in poor circumstances in Paris in 1831 and was biuried at Père Lachaise.

Images

The grave of Archibald Cochrane at Père Lachaise, Paris.
Picture by Androom (02 Nov 2018)