Argyll, Or Argyle, Earl and Duke of, titles in the Scottish peerage held respectively since 1457 and 1701 by the heads of the family of Campbell (called by their Gaelic dependants Mac Galium More, "Campbell the Great"), who had been Lords Campbell since 1445, and who are also English peers. I. Colin, 2d Lord Campbell, in 1457 made earl of Argyll, died May 10,1493. He was appointed master of the king's household in 14(54 by James III., subsequently served as ambassador to England and later to France, was justiciar or lord justiciary, and finally lord high chancellor of Scotland. He acquired by marriage the estates and titles of Lome, which still remain in the family.

II. Archibald, 2d carl, commanded the vanguard at Flodden Field, Sept. 9, 1513, and was killed in the battle. HI. Archibald, 5th earl, died in 1575. He was one of the most important adherents of Mary, queen of Scots, and commander of her forces at the battle of Langside in 1568. He was one of a council of nobles who virtually ruled Scotland after the assassination of Murray. After the murder of Lennox he was an unsuccessful candidate for the regency. He was appointed, however, a privy councillor, and in 1572 lord high chancellor.

IV. Archibald, 8th earl, born in 1598, beheaded at Edinburgh, May 27, 1661. In 1633 his father, the seventh earl, announced his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith, and was compelled live years before his death to surrender to Archibald, then Lord Lome, nearly all his estates. Immediately on his succession Argyll joined the side of the Scottish church against the innovations of Charles I. In spite of this opposition, the king, knowing his power in Scotland, made him a marquis in 1041. On the breaking out of the civil war he at once joined the estates against the king. He was made commander of the army sent against Montrose, but was so signally defeated by that general in two engagements that he almost immediately resigned. He afterward went to meet the king at Newcastle, and, rejoining the royal side, took part later in the coronation of Charles II. at Scone, Jan. 1, 1051, placing the crown with his own hands upon the king's head. Not long after, however, he submitted to Cromwell after the battle of Worcester, and subsequently sat for Aberdeen in parliament under the protector's son Richard. At the restoration in 1000, he endeavored to make still another change, and hurried to London to conciliate the king; but he was imprisoned in the tower, and soon after sent to Scotland, where he was tried for high treason, found guilty, and beheaded.

V. Archibald, 9th earl, beheaded at Edinburgh, June 30, 1685. He had remained faithful to the king during the revolution, and therefore at the restoration his father's estate and earldom (the marquisate having expired) were restored to him. But he refused to take the test oath, unless with the qualification "as far as is consistent with the Protestant faith." For this he was convicted of high treason and sentenced to death, but escaped for a time by disguising himself as a page, and going, in the suite of his stepdaughter, Lady Sophia Lindsay, to Holland. Returning at the head of an army, he was defeated, captured, and immediately executed.

VI. Archibald, 10th earl and 1st duke of Argyll, son of the preceding, died in September, 1703. he was acknowledged earl in 1689 by the convention of estates of Scotland, though his father's attainder was not formally reversed until several years later. He took an active part in the revolution of 1688-'9, which placed William and Mary on the throne, and at the wish of the convention tendered the coronation oath to the king. The latter rewarded his services by several important appointments, and on June 23, 1701, conferred upon him the title of duke. \II. John, 2d duke, born Oct. 10, 1678, died Sept. 3, 1743. Immediately on his succession, although he was but 25 years old, he was appointed to nearly all the offices before held by his father, as an extraordinary lord of session, privy councillor, etc. In the reign of Queen Anne he was prominent in bringing about the union of Scotland and England, and for his services in this matter was made Baron Chatham and earl of Greenwich in the peerage of England. He served with great distinction in four campaigns in Flanders, and was made a lieutenant general.

He several times changed his political views to suit the dominant party; in reward of the first of these changes, in 1710, he was appointed ambassador to Spain. On the accession of the family of Hanover, which he aided efficiently, he was made commander-in-chief of the army in Scotland, and took a prominent part in repressing the rebellion of 1715. His influence at court at this period was also very great. On April 13, 1719, he was made duke of Greenwich, a title which became extinct at his death.

VIII. Archibald, 3d duke, brother of the preceding, born in June, 1682, died April 15, 1761. He was appointed, soon after he became of age, lord high treasurer of Scotland, and in 1710 was made lord justice general for life. After he succeeded to his brother's title in 1743, he had almost entire control of the Scottish government, lie left no issue, and the title devolved upon his cousin.

IX. George John Douglas, 8th duke, Baron Sundridge and Lord Hamilton (titles first held by the 5th and 6th dukes) in the peerage of England, 2d son of John Douglas Edward Henry, 7th duke, born April 30, 1823. His elder brother died young, and he succeeded his father April 26, 1847. Even before his succession he took a prominent part in Scotch politics, especially in the discussion regarding the Presbyterian church. On subjects connected with this he published in 1842' "A Letter to the Peers from a Peer's Son," and later several other pamphlets. In the controversy he was an adherent of Dr. Thomas Chalmers, but did not agree with that clergyman in his separation from the church. After his succession to the title and his seat in the house of lords, he became prominent as a debater. He has generally sided with the liberals. In 1852 he was appointed lord privy seal, under the ministry of Lord Aberdeen. This office he retained under Lord Palmerston till 1855, when he was made postmaster general. He retired in 1858, but in 1859 he was again made lord privy seal, and retired in 1866. In 1868 he was appointed secretary of state for India in the Gladstone cabinet. The duke has also become distinguished in science and literature.

In 1854 he was elected lord rector of the university of Glasgow. His principal work, "The Reign of Law," was published in 1866. On March 21, 1871, the marquis of Lome, his eldest son, was married at St. George's chapel, Windsor, to the princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. This was the first instance of the marriage of the daughter of a reigning sovereign of England to a subject.