Alexander Dirom

Lieutenant General Alexander Dirom (21 May 1757 – 6 October 1830) was a British military commander and agricultural improver who served in Barbados, Jamaica, and India. He earned fellowships from both the Royal Society of London and the Royal Society of Edinburgh for his contributions to agriculture, particularly his discovery of salt's importance in animal diets, which led to the widespread use of "salt-licks." His views on British corn trade influenced the formulation of the Corn Laws. Dirom was born in Banffshire, Scotland, to Alexander Dirom of Muiresk and Ann Fotheringham. He joined the military at a young age, serving with the 61st Regiment of Foot and later the 88th Foot in Barbados and Jamaica as Military Secretary. He transferred to the 60th (Royal American) Regiment and was involved in prisoner exchanges in St Domingo before returning to England. He served in India under Major General Sir Archibald Campbell during the Third Mysore War. Dirom authored several publications, including *Narrative of the Campaign in India* and *An Inquiry into the Corn Laws*. He married Magdalen Passley in 1793 and had twelve children. His family included notable figures like his brother Sophia Dirom, who married Captain George Duff RN, and their daughter Leonora Anne Dirom, who married Rev William Muir FRSE. Dirom also received recognition for his agricultural innovations through his publication *On Experiments with Salt as Manure and in the Feeding of Livestock*. He died at Annan in 1830. A "school of Raeburn" portrait, supposedly of him, exists, though it ...