Field Marshal George Douglas Hamilton was born - On this day in history

Field Marshal George Douglas Hamilton was born at Hamilton Palace, Lanarkshire, on 9 February 1666.

Hamilton was the first British officer to be promoted to the rank of Field Marshal and served in many overseas campaigns, including the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the League of Augsburg. In 1696, he was made a peer when he became Earl of Orkney.