Alan Cathcart, 3rd Earl Cathcart
Alan Frederick Cathcart, 3rd Earl Cathcart (1828–1905) was a wealthy landowner and writer on agriculture. Cathcart introduced the term "economic ornithology" at a time when there was a public debate over whether the English sparrow was a pest or a friend of the farmer. Biography. Alan Frederick Cathcart was educated in Edinburgh at the Scottish Naval and Military Academy, which was founded in 1825 and closed in 1869. He joined the British Army in Canada as a member of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. He was an Honorary Colonel of the 1st Volunteer Battalion Yorkshire Regiment , assisted in raising the battalion, and was awarded the Volunteer Officers' Decoration. Upon his marriage he resigned from the army and devoted himself to agriculture and county business in Yorkshire. Cathcart was president of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1872–1873. He owned 5554 acres. On 2 April 1850 Cathcart married Elizabeth Mary (1831–1902), the eldest daughter and heiress of Sir Samuel Crompton, 1st Baronet. There were five sons and six daughters from the marriage. In 1894 he was awarded an Hon. LL.D. by the University of Cambridge.