Background
Murray was the son of Thomas Graham Murray and Caroline Jane, daughter of John Tod. His father and grandfather were solicitors, and founding partners of the Edinburgh firm Tods Murray & Jamieson.
Murray was the son of Thomas Graham Murray and Caroline Jane, daughter of John Tod. His father and grandfather were solicitors, and founding partners of the Edinburgh firm Tods Murray & Jamieson.
He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He served as Secretary for Scotland between 1903 and 1905, as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session between 1905 and 1913 and as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary between 1913 and 1932. Murray was called to the Scottish Bar in 1874 and became a Queen"s Counsel in 1891. The Conservatives lost power in 1892 but when they returned to office in 1895 under Salisbury, Murray was once again made Solicitor-General for Scotland.
In 1896 he was promoted to Lord Advocate and sworn of the Privy Council.
He remained as Lord Advocate when Arthur Balfour became Prime Minister in 1902, but the following year he succeeded Lord Balfour of Burleigh as Secretary for Scotland, with a seat in the cabinet. Murray left the government and parliament in February 1905, on being appointed Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session.
He was raised to the peerage as Baron Dunedin, of Stenton in the County of Perth, on 9 March 1905. He held these posts until 1913, when he was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
During his tenure as a Law Lord he gave long majority judgments in cases including Metropolitan Water Board v Dick Kerr & Company Limited concerning frustration and Tredegar v.
Harwood concerning a landlord"s liability to insure premises, Ellerman Lincolnshire Limited v Murray on employment law and excessive reliance on a preamble or draft international instrument, Sorrel v Smith concerning the tort of conspiracy to interfere with a trade or calling, Leyland Shipping Company Limited v Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society Limited on causation in tort, Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Company Limited v New Garage & Motor Company Limited on penalty clauses and Plumb v Cobden Flour Mills Company Limited on employer"s liability. He retired as a Law Lord in 1932. Apart from his legal and political career, Lord Dunedin was Sheriff of Perthshire between 1890 and 1891 and Lord Lieutenant of Buteshire between 1901 and 1905.
In 1926 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Dunedin, of Stenton in the County of Perth.
Lord Dunedin was twice married. They had no children.
Ronald Thomas Graham Murray (1875–1934) was a Major in the Black Watch and fought in the First World War. Lord Dunedin died in August 1942, aged 92.
As he had no surviving male issue both his titles became extinct on his death.
In 1923 he was chairman of the Political Honours Review Committee.
24th United Kingdom Parliament. 25th United Kingdom Parliament. 26th United Kingdom Parliament.
27th United Kingdom Parliament]
The latter year he was also elected Member of Parliament for Bute, a seat he held until 1905, and appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in Lord Salisbury"s Conservative administration.