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4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE JOHN (c. 1695-1762)
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JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762), eldest son of the 3rd marquess, was chief secretary of state for Scot-land from 1742 to 1746 and extraordinary lord of session from 1721 until his death. In six parliaments he was a representative peer for Scotland; he was for a time keeper of the king's signet, and in 1761 he was made lord-justice-general. He died on the 9th of December 1762. His brother, Lord CHARLES HAY (d. 1760), was the soldier who displayed great coolness when suddenly brought face to face with some French troops at Fontenoy, requesting the enemy, so Voltaire's account runs, to fire first. The family of the 4th marquess became extinct when GEORGE, the 5th marquess, died on the 4th of October 1770; and GEORGE, a son of the 3rd marquess, succeeded to the title. When he died unmarried on the 16th of November 1787 the marquessate passed to a kinsman, GEORGE (1733-1804), a descendant of the 2nd marquess, who became 7th marquess.