Thomas Elder (Lord Provost of Edinburgh)

Thomas Elder of Forneth (1737–29 May 1799), was a Scottish wine merchant who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1788 to 1790.

The exact date of his birth is not known, but he was baptised on 7 October 1737 (Parochial Registers, county of Perth, Clunie).

Elder held the office of chief magistrate of Edinburgh (where he carried on business as a wine merchant and grocer) for three different periods, viz.

[2] On the formation of the Royal Edinburgh Volunteers (militia) in the summer of 1794 he became their first Colonel in Chief, and on 9 September 1794 was voted a piece of silver plate by the town council "for his spirited and prudent conduct while in office, and especially during the late commotions".

His eldest daughter, Isabella, married George Husband Baird on 9 August 1792, who later became the Principal of the University of Edinburgh.