Freedom of the City of Aberdeen
Encyclopedia
Aberdeen's Freedom ceremony has its origins in the 12th Century. There have been 38 Freedom ceremonies in Aberdeen since the start of the 20th Century. At one time recipients were required to own arms and be prepared to use them in defence of the city.
The Freedom of the City
of Aberdeen has been conferred on the following persons:
The Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
of Aberdeen has been conferred on the following persons:
- Robert Davine of Appin (7 July 1828)
- John Baker Richards of Bryanston Square, London (25 June 1832)
- Dr John Abercrombie (23 November 1832)
- The Lord Brougham and VauxHenry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and VauxHenry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.As a young lawyer in Scotland Brougham helped to found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, and was called to the English bar in...
(10 September 1834) - The Duke of Buccleuch and QueensberryWalter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of BuccleuchWalter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry KG, PC , styled Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 1819, was a British politician and nobleman.-Background and education:...
(1834) - The Marquess of TweeddaleGeorge Hay, 8th Marquess of TweeddaleField Marshal George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, KT, GCB was a Scottish soldier and administrator.-Military career:...
(1834) - The Earl of ErrollWilliam Hay, 18th Earl of ErrollWilliam George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll KT, GCH, PC , styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician.-Background and education:...
(1836) - The Duke of Richmond and LennoxCharles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of RichmondCharles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and 5th Duke of Lennox KG, PC , styled Earl of March until in 1819, was a British soldier, politician and a prominent Conservative.-Background and education:...
(1837) - George Watt of Aberdeen (1839)
- The Duke of SutherlandGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of SutherlandGeorge Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland KG , styled Viscount Trentham until 1803, Earl Gower between 1803 and 1833 and Marquess of Stafford in 1833, was a British peer....
(1840) - Robert Wallace of Kelly (1841)
- George Thomas of Fairley (1841)
- Samuel McKnight of South Carolina (1844)
- Rowland HillRowland Hill (postal reformer)Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters...
(1844) - Albert, Prince Consort (1848)
- Sir Robert Peel, BtRobert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
(1849) - The Earl of Carlisle (1853)
- Joseph HumeJoseph HumeJoseph Hume FRS was a Scottish doctor and Radical MP, born in Montrose, Angus.-Medical career:He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and moved to India in 1797...
(1854) - The Earl StanhopePhilip Stanhope, 5th Earl StanhopePhilip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope FRS , styled Viscount Mahon between 1816 and 1855, was a British politician and historian...
(1858) - The Earl of AirlieDavid Ogilvy, 10th Earl of AirlieDavid Graham Drummond Ogilvy, 10th Earl of Airlie KT, DL , styled Lord Ogilvy from birth until 1849, was a Scottish peer.-Background and education:...
(1859) - Lord John RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
(1859) - Edward ElliceEdward ElliceEdward Ellice may refer to:*Edward Ellice , merchant and politician, and a prime mover behind the Reform Bill of 1832*Edward Ellice , son of the above, Whig politician...
(1862) - The Prince of WalesEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
(1866) - William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
(1871) - William Edward ForsterWilliam Edward ForsterWilliam Edward Forster PC, FRS was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman.-Early life:...
(1876) - Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon (1878)
- Sir John Anderson (1881)
- The Earl of AberdeenJohn Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and TemairJohn Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC , known as The Earl of Aberdeen from 1870 to 1916, was a Scottish politician...
(1883) - Sir Richard Assheton CrossR. A. Cross, 1st Viscount CrossRichard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross, GCB, GCSI, PC, FRS , known before his elevation to the peerage as R. A. Cross, was a British statesman and Conservative politician...
(1883) - Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyArchibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyArchibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, KG, PC was a British Liberal statesman and Prime Minister. Between the death of his father, in 1851, and the death of his grandfather, the 4th Earl, in 1868, he was known by the courtesy title of Lord Dalmeny.Rosebery was a Liberal Imperialist who...
(1884) - Marquess of LorneJohn Campbell, 9th Duke of ArgyllJohn George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, GCMG, GCVO, VD, PC , usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman and was the fourth Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883...
(1888) - William Alexander HunterWilliam Alexander HunterWilliam Alexander Hunter was a Scottish jurist and Liberal politician.Hunter was born in Aberdeen, the son of James Hunter, a granite merchant, of Aberdeen. He was educated at Aberdeen grammar school and university. He entered the Middle Temple, and was called to the English bar in 1867, but then...
(1890) - Henry Morton StanleyHenry Morton StanleySir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
(1890) - Andrew CarnegieAndrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
(1892) - Charles William Mitchell of Jesmond Towers (10 April 1901)
- The Lord Mount StephenGeorge Stephen, 1st Baron Mount StephenGeorge Stephen, 1st Baron of Mount Stephen , known as Sir Stephen, between 1778 and 1891.-Canadian Pacific Railway syndicate:...
(27 April 1901) - The Lord Strathcona and Mount RoyalDonald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount RoyalSir Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, GCMG, GCVO, PC, DL was a Scottish-born Canadian fur trader, financier, railroad baron and politician.-Early life:...
(9 April 1902) - The Earl RobertsFrederick Roberts, 1st Earl RobertsField Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Bt, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, PC was a distinguished Indian born British soldier who regarded himself as Anglo-Irish and one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century.-Early life:Born at Cawnpore, India, on...
(29 August 1913) - William Morris Hughes (29 August 1918)
- Sir Douglas HaigDouglas Haig, 1st Earl HaigField Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
(11 July 1919) - The Lord and Lady CowdrayWeetman Pearson, 1st Viscount CowdrayWeetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray GCVO, PC , known as Sir Weetman Pearson, Bt, between 1894 and 1910 and as The Lord Cowdray between 1910 and 1917, was a British engineer, oil industrialist, benefactor and Liberal politician...
(16 August 1926) - Sir Robert Williams (24 October 1927)
- The Earl JellicoeJohn Jellicoe, 1st Earl JellicoeAdmiral of the Fleet John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, GCB, OM, GCVO was a British Royal Navy admiral who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in World War I...
(26 September 1928) - Sir Thomas Jaffray of Edgehill (26 September 1928)
- Rev. Robert LawsRobert LawsDr Robert Laws was a Scottish missionary who headed the Livingstonia mission in the Nyasaland Protectorate for more than 50 years. The mission played a crucial role in educating Africans during the colonial era...
of Livingstonia (26 September 1928) - Sir James MurrayJames Murray (Scottish politician)James Murray was a Scottish Liberal Party politician.He was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament for East Aberdeenshire at a by-election in 1906, following the death of the Liberal MP James Annand, who had held the seat for only 16 days...
(7 October 1931) - Sir George Adam SmithGeorge Adam SmithGeorge Adam Smith , Scottish theologian, was born in Calcutta, where his father, George Smith, C.I.E., was then Principal of the Doveton College, a boys' school....
(7 October 1931) - The Lord MestonJames Meston, 1st Baron MestonJames Scorgie Meston, 1st Baron Meston KCSI, VD , was a prominent British civil servant, financial expert and businessman. He served as Lieutenant-Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1912 to 1918....
(20 September 1935) - The Lord MilneGeorge Milne, 1st Baron MilneField Marshal George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, GCB, GCMG, DSO , was a British military commander who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1926 to 1933.-Army career:...
(20 September 1935) - William Lyon Mackenzie KingWilliam Lyon Mackenzie KingWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...
(19 June 1937) - Joseph Aloysius Lyons (19 June 1937)
- Peter FraserPeter FraserPeter Fraser was a New Zealand political figure who served as the 24th Prime Minister from 27 March 1940 until 13 December 1949. He assumed the office nearly seven months after the outbreak of World War II and remained as head of government for almost ten years...
(31 July 1941) - Jan Christiaan SmutsJan SmutsJan Christiaan Smuts, OM, CH, ED, KC, FRS, PC was a prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various cabinet posts, he served as Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa from 1919 until 1924 and from 1939 until 1948...
(1942) - John Gilbert WinantJohn Gilbert WinantJohn Gilbert Winant OM was an American politician with the Republican party after a brief career as a teacher in Concord, New Hampshire. Born in New York City, Winant held positions in New Hampshire, national, and international politics...
(27 July 1943) - Vi-Kyuin Wellington KooWellington KooKoo Vi Kyuin or Ku Wei-chün , often known by the Western name V.K. Wellington Koo, was a prominent diplomat under the Republic of China, representative to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Ambassador to France, Great Britain, and the United States; participant in founding the League of Nations...
(27 July 1943) - Winston Spencer ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(27 April 1946) - Sir John Boyd OrrJohn Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-OrrJohn Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr CH, DSO, MC, FRS , known as Sir John Boyd Orr from 1935 to 1949, was a Scottish teacher, doctor, biologist and politician who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his scientific research into nutrition and his work as the first Director-General of the United Nations...
(16 March 1949) - Thomas JohnstonThomas JohnstonThomas "Tom" Johnston CH was a prominent Scottish socialist and politician of the early 20th century, a member of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and government minister – usually with Cabinet responsibility for Scottish affairs.-Red Clydesider:Johnston, the son of a middle-class...
(16 March 1949) - The Colonel, Officers and other Ranks of the Gordon Highlanders (20 August 1949)
- The Earl AttleeClement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
(5 June 1956) - The Lord Bilsland (5 June 1956)
- Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (25 May 1959)
- Sir Dugald BairdDugald BairdSir Dugald Baird was a Scottish medical doctor.He graduated in medicine from Glasgow University in 1922. His early experiences attending births in the Glasgow slums and in the city's Royal Maternity Hospital shaped his interest in the social and economic influences on the health of women, their...
and Lady Baird (21 June 1966) - The Lord StrathclydeThomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron StrathclydeThomas Dunlop Galbraith, 1st Baron Strathclyde PC was a Scottish Unionist Party politician.He studied at Glasgow Academy; Eastmans, Southsea; Royal Naval College Osborne and Royal Naval College Dartmouth...
(21 June 1966) - Mary Esslemont (9 October 1981)
- NelsonNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
and Winifred Mandela (29 November 1984) - HMS ScyllaHMS Scylla (F71)HMS Scylla was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy . She was built at Devonport Royal Dockyard and was the last RN frigate to be built at the Dockyard so far. Scylla was launched in August 1968 and commissioned in 1970...
(8 June 1992) - Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (6 December 1993)
- University of AberdeenUniversity of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
(11 February 1995) - Alex C. Collie (18 November 1995)
- Sir Alex FergusonAlex FergusonSir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
(30 March 1999) - John Rowland MallardJohn MallardJohn Mallard OBE FRSE was Professor of Medical Physics at the University of Aberdeen from 1965 until his retirement in 1992. He is known for his and his colleague's work in the development of radionuclide imaging, magnetic resonance imaging and, in particular, positron emission tomography...
(14 August 2004) - Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1 July 2006)
- George DonaldScotland the What?Scotland the What? were a Scottish comedy revue act comprising William "Buff" Hardie, Stephen Robertson and George Donald.Buff Hardie and Steve Robertson first met in the Aberdeen Student Show in 1952. George Donald, another University of Aberdeen student, wrote music for the 1954 Student Show, but...
(20 April 2008) - William "Buff" HardieScotland the What?Scotland the What? were a Scottish comedy revue act comprising William "Buff" Hardie, Stephen Robertson and George Donald.Buff Hardie and Steve Robertson first met in the Aberdeen Student Show in 1952. George Donald, another University of Aberdeen student, wrote music for the 1954 Student Show, but...
(20 April 2008) - Stephen RobertsonScotland the What?Scotland the What? were a Scottish comedy revue act comprising William "Buff" Hardie, Stephen Robertson and George Donald.Buff Hardie and Steve Robertson first met in the Aberdeen Student Show in 1952. George Donald, another University of Aberdeen student, wrote music for the 1954 Student Show, but...
(20 April 2008)