Philip Dundas

Philip Dundas (baptised 7 May 1762 – 8 April 1807) was a Scottish East India Company naval officer, president of the East India Marine Board, and superintendent of Bombay. He returned to Britain and became a member of parliament and returned to the Far East to become governor of Prince of Wales Island, now known as Penang. Early life Philip Dundas was the fourth son of Robert Dundas of Arniston, the younger, and his second wife, Jean, daughter of William Grant, Lord Prestongrange. East India Company Dundas joined the East India Company Navy and rose to become captain of from 1786 until 1792. Through the influence of his politically well connected uncle, Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, he was promoted from captain to president of the Marine Board and superintendent of Bombay from 1792 until 1801 (see Admiral-superintendent), during which time "he had £10,000 a year and accumulated £70,000 or £80,000, with which he returned to England". Member of Parliament On returning to Britain Dundas stood as a member of Parliament for English constituency of Gatton and having won the seat after a contested by-election (during which he was elected with a single vote cast) entered Parliament on 24 January 1803. He would remain in parliament for a little over two years, and although he remained a silent member, like other members of his family he voted in favour of measures that brought Addington administration to an end. In April 1805 he vacated his seat, leaving it at Pitt's disposal.