John Sinclair, 1st Baron Pentland, GCSI, GCIE (7 July 1860 – 11 January 1925) was a Scottish Liberal Party politician, soldier, peer, administrator and Privy Councillor who served as the Secretary of Scotland from 1905 to 1912 and was the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919.
Baron Pentland was born John Sinclair to Sir John Sinclair, 6th baronet of Dunbeath. He studied in the United Kingdom and in 1892, entered the House of Commons as an elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Dunbartonshire. He was elected for a second term from Forfar in 1897 and served in the British Parliament from 1892 to 1895 and 1897 to 1909.
He also served as an Aide-de-Camp and secretary to Lord Aberdeen. Sinclair was appointed to the Privy Council in 1905. He served as the Secretary for Scotland from 1905 to 1912 and as the Governor of Madras from 1912 to 1919. He died in 1925.
During his tenure as Governor of Madras, Pentland became popular in India for the interest he showed in the indigenous tradition and culture. At the same time, he is also remembered for his crackdown on Annie Besant and leaders of the Home Rule Movement.
A radical Liberal, Sinclair was supportive of reforms aimed at promoting social justice. As noted by Veronica Strong-Boag
“As much as anyone in the new Cabinet after the 1905 election, he embodied the new liberalism of state intervention on the side of the weak. He was also a staunch proponent of legislation tailored to Scottish circumstances. His advocacy of the Scottish Education Act of 1908, which provided for improved teacher training and school facilities and meals for students, very much followed the spirit of Lord Aberdeen’s practices on his own estates. So, too, did Sinclair’s support for legislation to secure the land rights of Scottish crofters.”
From a 1906 Book
Secretary for Scotland. Was born in 1860, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Wellington, and afterwards at Sandhurst, whence he entered the army in 1879. He served in the Soudan Expedition in 1885, and was A.D.C. to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1886. He sat as M.P. for Dumbartonshire 1892-1895, and has represented Forfarshire since 1897. He was appointed Secretary for Scotland 1905. In 1904 he married Lady Marjorie Gordon, daughter of the Earl of Aberdeen.
He commenced yachting in 1902 with the Mazurka, after which he bought the Alruna, 126-ton yawl, and the Rothion, 11-ton yawl. He still owns the Mazurka and the Alruna. Mr. Sinclair was one of the owners in the Solent one-design class in the years 1903-1904. In 1904 he cruised in the Baltic and Gulf of Finland, in 1905 on the South Coast of England, and in 1906 up the East Coast to the Hebrides and West Coast of Scotland.
Clubs: Royal Yacht Squadron, Royal Highland, Royal Cruising, and Royal Tay.
Residence: 2, Cambridge Square, W.
Vessels: Mazurka; Alruna; Rothion