John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl
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John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl KT PC (6 May 1729 – 5 November 1774) was the son of Lord George Murray.
On 23 October 1753, he married his first cousin, Lady Charlotte Murray, at Dunkeld. They had nine children:
- John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl (1755–1830)
- Rt. Rev. Lord George Murray (1761–1803)
- Lord William Murray (1762–1796)
- Lord Henry Murray (1767–1805)
- Very Rev. Lord Charles Murray-Aynsley (1771–1808)
- Lady Charlotte Murray (d. 1808)
- Lady Amelia Murray (d. 1818)
- Lady Jane Murray (d. 1846)
- Lady Mary Murray (d. 1814)
John was Tory MP for Perthshire from 1761 to 1764. On 8 January 1764, his uncle and father-in-law, the 2nd Duke of Atholl died. John should have been heir to the dukedom, which was only able to descend through the male line; but he was ineligible since his father had fought in Jacobite Rising and consequently been attained in the blood. John's wife, however, had succeeded to her father's title of Baron Strange (which could descend through the female line) and consequently held a higher position in society than her husband. Thus, just less than a month later on 7 February 1764, the House of Lords deemed John as the rightful heir to his uncle's title (notwithstanding the attainder of his father) and he succeed him as 3rd Duke of Atholl.
John died in 1774, aged 45, after drowning in the River Tay in a fit of delirium and was buried at Dunkeld.
| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: James Murray | Lord of Mann 1764–1765 | Succeeded by: George III |
| Preceded by: The Earl of Dumfries | Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 1773–1774 | Succeeded by: David Dalrymple |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by: James Murray | Duke of Atholl | Succeeded by: John Murray |
