The eldest son of James Hamilton, 7th Earl of Abercorn and Anne Plumer, he was born in Queen Square, London on 22 October 1712.

[citation needed] Abercorn continued to repurchase old family lands in Scotland, acquiring the lordship of Paisley in 1764[3] from Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald.

[6] In the Lords, Abercorn opposed the 1766 repeal of the Stamp Act, and the East India Bill put forth by the Fox–North coalition in 1783.

On 24 August 1786, he was created Viscount Hamilton, in the Peerage of Great Britain, with a special remainder to his nephew John James.

The Committee for Privileges, on 13 February 1787, set a precedent by resolving that this vacated his seat as a representative peer for Scotland.