Niall Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll

Niall Diarmid Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll (S), 3rd Duke of Argyll (UK)  (1872-1949)

Niall Diarmid Campbell was the only son of Captain Lord Archibald Campbell, second son of George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll, and his wife Janey Sevilla Callander of Craigforth and Ardkinglas, daughter of James Henry Callander. His uncle was John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, and his aunt by marriage was Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, 4th dau. of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

He was educated at St George's School Ascot and went then to Charterhouse School, Godalming, Surrey, England. Niall Diarmid Campbell graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, in 1896 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). He was admitted to the The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as the "Middle Temple" on 1 November 1894 and withdrew without being Called to the Bar in 1917.

On May 2, 1914, he succeeded his uncle John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll as 10th Duke of Argyll (S), 3rd Duke of Argyll (UK).

Following his inheritance, His Grace became Honorary Colonel of the 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders until his retirement in 1929. He was additionally Honorary Colonel of the 15th (Canadian) Argyll Light Infantry. Having been previously a Deputy Lieutenant from 1914, he funded the creation of the Inveraray Bell Tower, in memory of the Clan Campbell members who died in the First World War. The whole Inveraray Bell Tower project cost over £21,000 in 1921 (£1,093,818 or $1,447,688 in March 2022). His support didn't stop with the Bell Tower. The Inveraray church owes much to the generosity of Niall, 10th Duke of Argyll who took great interest in both the worship and the business affairs of the church. His gifts included several beautiful sets of vestments, the tabernacle, sanctuary lamps, candlesticks, the oak settle and many other furnishings.

The 10th Duke Niall Diarmid Campbell was appointed HM Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire in 1923, an office he held until his death in 1949. The 10th Duke was one of a long line of Campbells to hold the position of Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire and later Lord Lieutenant of Argyll and Bute.

He was extremely keen on history, an expert on the clan Campbell, and made a thorough examination of the voluminous archives in the house – Sir James Fergusson, 8th Baronet of Kilkerran, later Keeper of the Records of Scotland (1949-1969), tells of a visit to Inveraray when he found the Duke literally ankle-deep in old papers which were all over the floor and the furniture. Out of all this came the indispensable ‘Argyll Transcripts’ – meticulous notes on all the charters in the collection laid out in sequence, together with a host of scholarly notes. Hardly any of his work was published. The Duke did write on ancient saints; he was very High Church.

He loved his home and his county and played well the role of a great Highland Chief. Referred to as "Scotland's most picturesque Duke", the 10th Duke hated telephones and motor cars and would indulge in eccentric behavior, including greeting tourists with recitals from Italian operas. The Duke always wore the Campbell Tartan kilt when in the Highlands. His usual form of transport was his bicycle and the sight of an elderly man pedaling along garbed in this fashion became a well-known sight. Throughout his life, the Old Duke kept up with his friends; he was an antiquarian of note; and he took his duties as Mac Cailein Mòr very seriously.

Married: Fearing that the eccentricity from his maternal side of the family could be inherited, he never married.

Children: died without issue

Born: 16 Feb 1872

Died: 20 Aug 1949

Tenure: 2 May 1914 - 20 Aug 1949 (35 years, 3 months, 19 days)

Titles and Honors: He succeeded as the Chief of the Honorable Clan Campbell, Mac Cailein Mór on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 20th Lord Campbell [S., 1445] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 19th Earl of Argyll [S., 1457] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 19th Lord Lorne [S., 1470] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 13th Lord of Kintyre [S., 1626] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 12th Baronet Campbell, of Lundy in Angus, co. Forfar [N.S., 1627] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 10th Duke of Argyll [S., 1701] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 10th Marquess of Kintyre and Lorn [S., 1701] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 10th Earl of Campbell and Cowall [S., 1701] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 10th Viscount of Lochow and Glenyla [S., 1701] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 10th Lord of Inverary, Mull, Morvern and Tirie [S., 1701] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 6th Baron Sundridge, of Coomb Bank, Kent [G.B., 1766] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 7th Baron Hamilton of Hameldon, co. Leicester [G.B., 1776] on 2 May 1914.
He succeeded as the 3rd Duke of Argyll [U.K., 1892] on 2 May 1914.

He held the office of Keeper of the Great Seal [Scotland] on 2 May 1914.
He held the office of Keeper of Dunstaffnage, Carrick, Tarbert and Dunoon Castles on 2 May 1914.
He held the office of Hereditary Grand Master of the Royal Household [Scotland] on 2 May 1914.
He held the office of Admiral of the Western Coasts and the Isles on 2 May 1914.

Preceded by: Uncle, John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll (S), 2nd Duke of Argyll (UK), KG, KT, GCMG, GCVO, VD, PC

Succeeded by: 1st cousin once removed, Ian Douglas Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll (S), 4th Duke of Argyll (UK)

Niall Diarmid Campbell, 10th Duke of Argyll (S), 3rd Duke of Argyll (UK) was interred at Kilmun Parish Church and Cemetery Kilmun, Argyll and Bute, Scotland. He died on 20 August 1949 and, after a service in Inveraray, Scotland, his coffin was carried by a Royal Army Service Corps launch to the old burial place of the family at Kilmun. His cortège was attended by many Campbell lairds, with the pall-bearers headed by the Earl of Breadalbane, Sir George Campbell of Succoth, Colonel Campbell of Inverneill, the Captain of Dunstaffnage, Campbell of Peatoun representing Campbell of Ardkinglas, Campbell of Craignish, Brigadier Lorne Campbell of Airds yr., VC, and Brigadier Sir Bruce Campbell of Arduaine.