John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of Lindsay

John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of Lindsay

John Lindsay (1596–1678), Earl of Crawford and Earl of Lindsay, was a Scottish noble.

Previously the 10th Lord Lindsay of the Byres, he was created Earl of Lindsay in 1633. He also received the earldom of Crawford following the forfeiture of his cousin, Ludovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of Crawford.

He became Treasurer of Scotland in 1644, and in 1645 President of Parliament.^[1] During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms he played a complex role, but his position was basically a moderate Presbyterian "Engager" one. He fought for the army of the Scots Parliament at the Battle of Marston Moor, and against the royalist general Montrose at the Battle of Kilsyth, and was eventually captured by the English at Alyth.

He then changed sides, and in 1647 he signed the "engagement" for the release of Charles I, losing all his offices when his enemy, the Marquess of Argyll, obtained the upper hand. After the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, however, Crawford regained his influence in Scottish politics, but from 1651 to 1660 he was a prisoner in England following his capture at Alyth in an incident known as 'the Onfall of Alyth'.^[2] In 1661 he was restored to his former dignities, but his refusal to abjure the covenant compelled him to resign them two years later.^[1]

He married Lady Margaret Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Hamilton and was succeeded by his son William Lindsay, 2nd Earl of Lindsay.

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•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1903). "Lindsay, John (1596-1678)". Index and Epitome. Dictionary of National Biography. Cambridge University Press.

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