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'Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine' (July 20, 1766, Broomhall, Fife - November 14, 1841, Paris) was a British nobleman and diplomat, known for the removal of marble sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens -- popularly known as the Elgin Marbles.
Elgin (pronounced with a 'hard g' IPA: //) was the third son of Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin and his wife Martha Whyte. He succeeded his older brother William, the 6th earl, in 1771 while he was only five.
On March 11, 1799, shortly before setting off to serve as ambassador at Constantinople, Elgin married Mary Nisbet (1778–1855), only child of William Hamilton Nisbet, of Dirleton; she was from a Scottish landowning family who lived not far away, and heir to a large fortune. They had two sons and three daughters.
Elgin was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire between 1799 and 1803. He had a great enthusiasm for antiquities, and was shocked by the indifference of the ruling Turks to the worsening condition of the sculptures. His claimed motive in removing them was to preserve them. In the process of removing the Marbles, he discovered that he was unable to move them out of acropolis without cutting them out in smaller pieces. Therefore, a considerable damage was made to the marbles. Even at the time, his actions were controversial. Elgin spent vast amounts of money in having them shipped home to Britain, which he never recouped.
Elgin's time in the Near East had been full of personal misfortune. From an early age Elgin had suffered from an ailment which was described as rheumatism but which was almost certainly syphilis. The disease, which ate into his nose, made him, and his family, who included an epileptic son, the targets of many cruel jokes. The loss of his nose made him even less appealing than he had previously been to his young wife. On his journey home, through France, the Earl and some of his companions were taken prisoners of war (war having broken out after they left for home) and were held in detention for several months. Although they were well-treated, Lady Elgin had to travel home without her husband, and began a liaison with one of her escorts. On his return to Britain, Elgin, finding that he could not get the British Museum to pay what he was asking for the marbles, sued his wife's lover for an appropriately high sum. He divorced her for adultery by legal actions in 1807 and 1808 in the English and Scottish courts—and by act of parliament—which caused much public scandal. He then, on September 21, 1810, married Elizabeth (1790–1860), youngest daughter of James Townsend Oswald of Dunnikier; they had five sons, including James Bruce, governor-in-chief of British North America and viceroy of India, and Sir Frederick Wright-Bruce, diplomatist, and three daughters. The first countess later married Robert Ferguson of Raith (1777–1846) who had been cited in the divorce. Elgin went to live on the Continent. Because his estates were still heavily encumbered with debt his third son, James Bruce, the eighth earl, spent most of his life abroad. The marbles were put on display and were eventually bought for the nation in 1816.