Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington

Charles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington,GCMG,GCIE,FRSGS(29 July 1860 – 16 September 1940), was a British politician and colonial administrator who served asGovernor of Queenslandfrom 1896 to 1901, andGovernor of Bombayfrom 1903 to 1907.
Born inLondon, England, he was the only son ofAlexander Baillie-Cochrane, 1st Baron Lamington. Charles was educated atEton CollegeandChrist Church, Oxford,where he graduated with aBachelor of Artsin 1883. In 1885, he became assistant private secretary to thePrime Minister of the United Kingdom,Lord Salisbury.
Cochrane-Baillie was narrowly defeated in the1885 electionfor theborough constituencyofSt Pancras North, but he won thesubsequent electionin July 1886, taking his seat in theBritish House of Commonsfor theConservative Party.
Upon the death of his father in 1890, he succeeded as the 2ndBaron Lamington.
On 13 June 1895, he married Mary Houghton Hozier at St Michael's Church,Pimlico;they had two children, a son and a daughter.
In 1890, the British government sent Lord Lamington to travel betweenTonkinin Vietnam andSiam, with a view to annexing at least theXishuangbannadistrict and possibly the wholeYunnanprovince of China in an attempt to limit French colonisation of the area.
Cochrane-Baillie was in theRoyal Company of Archers, as King's body guard for Scotland.In October 1895, Lord Lamington was selected to replaceSir Henry NormanasGovernor of Queensland. His tenure as Governor was from 9 April 1896 to 19 December 1901.He was a very politicallyconservativegovernor, and expressed a concern that theFederation of Australiawhich took place during his tenure would lead to unrestrainedsocialism. He also worked with the firstPremier of Queensland,Sir Samuel Griffith, to ensure that the role of state governors was not diminished after Federation.
Apart from six months leave in England when he was appointed aKnight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, Lord Lamington served as governor for five years until 19 December 1901. In 1903 he was made aKnight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire,and appointed asGovernor of Bombay(until his resignation in July 1907),where the royal prerogative he exercised was far more powerful than it had been in Australia.He is also noted as being sympathetic, after having met‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to theBaháʼí Faith.
Lord Lamington was appointedcaptainof theLanarkshire Yeomanryon 26 March 1902.
In Spring 1919, he served as Commissioner of the British Relief Unit inSyria,prior to its allocation as aFrench mandate.
On 13 March 1940, he was one of four victims of a shooting at theCaxton Hallin London byIndian nationalistUdham Singh. Former lieutenant-governor of India,Michael O'Dwyerwas killed instantly. O'Dwyer's predecessor in the role,Louis Dane, suffered a broken arm. Cochrane-Baillie andLawrence Dundas, the former secretary of state for India, were slightly injured.
He died at his family home, Lamington House, inLanarkshire, Scotland, on 16 September 1940, aged 80.
Lord Lamington married Mary Houghton Hozier, the youngest daughter ofWilliam Hozier, 1st Baron Newlands, on 13 June 1895. They had two children, a son Victor Alexander Brisbane William Cochrane-Baillie (1896–1951, godson ofQueen Victoriaand in 1940 became the 3rd Baron Lamington) and a daughter Grisell Annabella Gem Cochrane-Baillie (1898–1985).
Lady Lamington's diary, her 'little pamphlet of memories',held by the State Library of Queensland,paints a detailed portrait of their life as public figures in the colonies.
Lord Lamington is best known in Australia for allegedly giving his name to thelamington, a popular Australian cake consisting of a cube ofsponge cakedipped in a thin chocolate icing and rolled in desiccatedcoconut. The stories of the creation of the lamington vary widely, although in most versions Lamington's chef Armand Galland atQueensland's Government Housedevises the cake either by accident or due to a shortage of ingredients. Lamington is also reported to have referred to the cakes as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".
In May 2009,Australia Postcommemorated Lord and Lady Lamington on a postage stamp as part of a series celebrating Australian deserts.
TheLamington Plateau and National Parkin Queensland,Lamington BridgeinMaryborough, Queensland,Mount Lamington(a volcano inPapua New Guinea), andLamington RoadinMumbaiLamington High School in Hubli were also named after him.
The Lady Lamington Hospital for Women and Lady Lamington Nurses Home are now part ofRoyal Brisbane Hospital Nurses' Homes.