John Douglas was born in Florence, Italy, the eldest son of Conservative politician Archibald, Viscount Drumlanrig, and Caroline Margaret Clayton.
He had three brothers, Francis, Archibald, and James, and two sisters, Gertrude and Florence.
He was briefly styled Viscount Drumlanrig following his father's succession in 1856, and on the latter's death in 1858 he inherited the Marquessate of Queensberry.
The 9th Marquess was educated in the training ships Illustrious and Britannia at Portsmouth, and served in the Royal Navy until resigning in 1864.
He was Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 1st Dumfriesshire Rifle Volunteers from 1869 to 1871.

In 1864, Lord Queensberry entered Magdalene College, Cambridge, which he left two years later without taking a degree.
He was more distinguished in sport, playing college cricket as well as running, hunting, and steeplechasing.

He married Sibyl Montgomery in 1866.
They had four sons and a daughter; his wife successfully sued for divorce in 1887 on the grounds of his adultery.
She survived him to the age of 90, dying in 1935.
Queensberry married Ethel Weeden in 1893 but this marriage was annulled the following year.

Queensberry sold the family seat of Kinmount in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, an action which further alienated him from his family.

He died, two months after a stroke, and after a period of mental decline believed to be caused by syphilis, in his club room in Welbeck Street, west London, aged 55, nearly a year before Oscar Wilde's death.
He wrote a poem starting with the words "When I am dead cremate me."
 After cremation at Woking Crematorium, his ashes were buried at Kinmount in the Douglas Mausoleum outside Cummertrees Parish Church.

His eldest son and heir apparent was Francis, Viscount Drumlanrig, who was rumored to have been engaged in a homosexual relationship with the Liberal Prime Minister, The 5th Earl of Rosebery.
Lord Drumlanrig died from a gunshot wound, unmarried and without children.

Douglas's second son, Lord Percy Douglas (1868–1920), succeeded to the peerage instead.
Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, his third son, was a close friend of famous author and poet Oscar Wilde.
Eventually it became known that Lord Alfred and Wilde had engaged in sexual intercourse on multiple occasions, severely damaging the reputation of both men and enraging Queensberry.
Queensberry's efforts to end that relationship ultimately lead to his famous dispute with Wilde, which would cumulate to Wilde's eventual imprisonment, decline, and fall.
John Douglas was born in Florence, Italy, the eldest son of Conservative politician Archibald, Viscount Drumlanrig, and Caroline Margaret Clayton. He had three brothers, Francis, Archibald, and James, and two sisters, Gertrude and Florence. He was briefly styled Viscount Drumlanrig following his father's succession in 1856, and on the latter's death in 1858 he inherited the Marquessate of Queensberry. The 9th Marquess was educated in the training ships Illustrious and Britannia at Portsmouth, and served in the Royal Navy until resigning in 1864. He was Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 1st Dumfriesshire Rifle Volunteers from 1869 to 1871.
In 1864, Lord Queensberry entered Magdalene College, Cambridge, which he left two years later without taking a degree. He was more distinguished in sport, playing college cricket as well as running, hunting, and steeplechasing.
He married Sibyl Montgomery in 1866. They had four sons and a daughter; his wife successfully sued for divorce in 1887 on the grounds of his adultery. She survived him to the age of 90, dying in 1935. Queensberry married Ethel Weeden in 1893 but this marriage was annulled the following year.
Queensberry sold the family seat of Kinmount in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, an action which further alienated him from his family.
He died, two months after a stroke, and after a period of mental decline believed to be caused by syphilis, in his club room in Welbeck Street, west London, aged 55, nearly a year before Oscar Wilde's death. He wrote a poem starting with the words "When I am dead cremate me."  After cremation at Woking Crematorium, his ashes were buried at Kinmount in the Douglas Mausoleum outside Cummertrees Parish Church.
His eldest son and heir apparent was Francis, Viscount Drumlanrig, who was rumored to have been engaged in a homosexual relationship with the Liberal Prime Minister, The 5th Earl of Rosebery. Lord Drumlanrig died from a gunshot wound, unmarried and without children.
Douglas's second son, Lord Percy Douglas (1868–1920), succeeded to the peerage instead. Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas, his third son, was a close friend of famous author and poet Oscar Wilde. Eventually it became known that Lord Alfred and Wilde had engaged in sexual intercourse on multiple occasions, severely damaging the reputation of both men and enraging Queensberry. Queensberry's efforts to end that relationship ultimately lead to his famous dispute with Wilde, which would cumulate to Wilde's eventual imprisonment, decline, and fall.
John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry