Ian Malcolm

Who was Ian Malcolm?

Sir Ian Zachary Malcolm, 17th Laird of Poltalloch, KCMG, was a Conservative Member of Parliament and Chieftain of the Clan Malcolm/MacCallum.

He was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford. He served as a Justice of the Peace and as MP for Stowmarket 1895-1906, Croydon 1910-1918, then Croydon South 1918 until 1919. His Labour opponent in the 1918 General Election was H.T. Muggeridge, father of Malcolm Muggeridge.

Sir Ian held many diplomatic and political appointments and was a British Red Cross Officer during the First World War in France, Switzerland, Russia and the U.S.. He was private secretary to Balfour at the Peace Conference in 1919.

On 30 June 1902 at St. Margaret's, Westminster, Jeanne Langtry, daughter of Lillie Langtry, the famous actress, married Sir Ian. Breaking all tradition, the bride was given away by her mother. Unfortunately, Malcolm's family was far from impressed by their new daughter-in-law's mother—it is likely they were highly aware that Jeanne Marie's father was not Lillie Langtry's first husband, Edward Langtry, but one of her numerous lovers—and Lillie saw less and less of her daughter. Jeanne and Sir Ian lived alternately in a house in Belgravia, London, or at the Malcolm’s family seat at Poltalloch in Scotland.