Clan Arbuthnott in 1779. The previous clan chief was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (1945) and was appointed Knight of the Thistle and Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In Scotland he headed the Venerable Order of Saint John. The present Viscount of Arbuthnott and chief of Clan Arbuthnott succeeded to the position on his father's death in 2012. The current chief of Clan Arbuthnott is Keith Arbuthnott, 17th Viscount of Arbuthnott, Lord Inverbervie and Chief of the Name and Arms of Arbuthnott. Members of Clan Arbuthnott can show their allegiance to the clan by wearing a crest badge which
Clan Arbuthnott placed under house arrest in St Andrews. This seems to have had an ill effect on his health, as he died at the age of 44 in 1583. Sir Robert Arbuthnott, the direct descendant of the Laird of Arbuthnott who had been involved in the murder of sheriff Melville, was elevated in the peerage as Viscount of Arbuthnott and Baron Inverbervie by Charles I of England. Dr John Arbuthnot, who claimed kinship with the clan chief's family, was a distinguished physician and political humorist who was educated at the University of Aberdeen. In 1705, he had the fortune of being