Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin

The Earl of Elgin
Victor Bruce, c. 1897
Secretary of State for the Colonies
In office
10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908
MonarchEdward VII
Prime MinisterHenry Campbell-Bannerman
Preceded byAlfred Lyttelton
Succeeded byThe Earl of Crewe
Viceroy and Governor-General of India
In office
11 October 1894 – 6 January 1899
MonarchVictoria
Preceded byThe Marquess of Lansdowne
Succeeded byThe Lord Curzon of Kedleston
Personal details
Born(1849-05-16)16 May 1849
Montreal, Canada East,
Province of Canada
Died18 January 1917(1917-01-18) (aged 67)
Dunfermline, Fife,
United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
(m. 1876; died 1909)
Gertrude Sherbrooke
(m. 1913)
Children12, including Edward
Parent(s)James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin
Lady Mary Louisa Lambton
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford

Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin, 13th Earl of Kincardine, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC (16 May 1849 – 18 January 1917), known as Lord Bruce until 1863, was a right-wing British Liberal politician who served as Viceroy of India from 1894 to 1899. He was appointed by Prime Minister Arthur Balfour to hold an investigative enquiry into the conduct of the Boer War in 1902 to 1903. The Elgin Commission was the first of its kind in the British Empire, and it travelled to South Africa and took oral evidence from men who had actually fought in the battles. It was the first to value the lives of the dead and to consider the feelings of mourning relatives left behind, and it was the first occasion in the history of the British Army that recognised the testimony of ordinary soldiery as well as that of the officers.[1]

  1. ^ "Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin". Encyclopædia Britannica. 29 February 2024.