John William Maule Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, (29 January 1847 – 25 November 1887), styled Lord Ramsay between 1874 and 1880, was a Scottish naval commander, courtier and Liberal politician. He served as Secretary for Scotland in William Ewart Gladstone's short-lived 1886 administration.
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Early life
Dalhousie was born at Aberdour House at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire on 29 January 1847. He was the eldest son of Admiral George Ramsay, 12th Earl of Dalhousie, and Sarah Frances, daughter of William Robertson of Logan House. The Hon. Charles Maule Ramsay, MP for Forfarshire, was his younger brother. He gained the courtesy title of Lord Ramsay in 1874 when his father succeeded in the earldom of Dalhousie on the death of his first cousin, Fox Maule-Ramsay, 11th Earl of Dalhousie.
His paternal grandfather was The Hon. John Ramsay (the fourth son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie).
After attending Charterhouse School, he matriculated at Balliol College, Oxford in 1875.
Career
Dalhousie followed his father into the Royal Navy, where he served from 1861 to 1879, achieving the rank of Commander. He was Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh between 1874 and 1876 and an Extra Equerry between 1876 and 1880.