John Burns, 1st Baron Inverclyde
Encyclopedia
John Burns, 1st Baron Inverclyde, FRGS (24 June 1829 - 12 February 1901) was a ship owner. Born in Glasgow
he was the son of Sir George Burns, 1st Baronet, a founder of the shipping company G & J Burns and a partner in the Cunard Steamship Co.
and his wife, Jane Cleland. After school, he attended Glasgow University and took the general arts degree before joining the family firm about 1850. He married Emily (d. 1901), daughter of George Clerk Arbuthnot, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.
As a young man he had been in the Crimea
at the fall of Sevastopol
in 1855, and had subsequently been an advocate of good coastal defences and was the first to suggest to the government the use of merchant vessels for war purposes.
His father handed over control of the family businesses to him in 1860, the year he married, and he became a key figure, first as a partner, then as chairman, in the reconstruction and subsequent flotation of Cunard in 1878. Cunard began to replace its fleet of wooden paddle steamers with iron ships, first paddle driven, but increasingly employing the screw propeller. The first iron screw steamer was the China in 1862. Burns was particularly keen on economy, and the Cunard Line quickly adopted the new compound engine with the Batavia in 1870. Under Burns, Cunard was also quick to order a steel vessel, the first in their service being the Servia in 1881, which, apart from the Great Eastern, was the largest liner afloat.
By the 1890s, following his father’s death, he began to process of handing on the management to his two sons, George and James. George A. Burns followed as Cunard chairman, as well as being partner and director of G. and J. Burns Ltd. James C. Burns, was widely involved in Clyde shipping circles and became chairman of the Glasgow Shipowners' Association at that time.
Lord Inverclyde was a deputy lieutenant of Renfrewshire, of Lanarkshire, and of the county of the city of Glasgow. He was also a justice of the peace in Renfrewshire. As an honorary lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve
, Burns was involved in setting up a training ship scheme which was established on HMS Cumberland
. He travelled widely, and was a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society
. He was also a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, The Travellers’, and The Glasgow Clubs.
He was author of several literary works, including ‘A Wild Night’, Glimpses of Glasgow Low Life’, and, in 1887, The Adaption of Merchant Ships for War Purposes‘.
He inherited his father’s Baronetcy in 1890 and was created 1st Baron Inverclyde of Castle Wemyss, co. Renfrew
on 28 July 1897. Burns had acquired Castle Wemyss
from Charles Wilsone Brown of Wemyss Bay in 1860, and had the building enlarged and remodelled in Scottish Baronial style by Robert William Billings
.
In 1878, John Burns and his wife accompanied several other people, including writer Anthony Trollope
, on a trip to Iceland aboard the Burns ship Mastiff. Trollope described the trip in his book How the 'Mastiffs' went to Iceland.
He died on 12 February 1901; his wife Emily, dying the next day. They were interred together. He was succeeded by his son, George Arbuthnot Burns, 2nd Baron Inverclyde
(1861–1905)
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
he was the son of Sir George Burns, 1st Baronet, a founder of the shipping company G & J Burns and a partner in the Cunard Steamship Co.
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
and his wife, Jane Cleland. After school, he attended Glasgow University and took the general arts degree before joining the family firm about 1850. He married Emily (d. 1901), daughter of George Clerk Arbuthnot, with whom he had two sons and three daughters.
As a young man he had been in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
at the fall of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
in 1855, and had subsequently been an advocate of good coastal defences and was the first to suggest to the government the use of merchant vessels for war purposes.
His father handed over control of the family businesses to him in 1860, the year he married, and he became a key figure, first as a partner, then as chairman, in the reconstruction and subsequent flotation of Cunard in 1878. Cunard began to replace its fleet of wooden paddle steamers with iron ships, first paddle driven, but increasingly employing the screw propeller. The first iron screw steamer was the China in 1862. Burns was particularly keen on economy, and the Cunard Line quickly adopted the new compound engine with the Batavia in 1870. Under Burns, Cunard was also quick to order a steel vessel, the first in their service being the Servia in 1881, which, apart from the Great Eastern, was the largest liner afloat.
By the 1890s, following his father’s death, he began to process of handing on the management to his two sons, George and James. George A. Burns followed as Cunard chairman, as well as being partner and director of G. and J. Burns Ltd. James C. Burns, was widely involved in Clyde shipping circles and became chairman of the Glasgow Shipowners' Association at that time.
Lord Inverclyde was a deputy lieutenant of Renfrewshire, of Lanarkshire, and of the county of the city of Glasgow. He was also a justice of the peace in Renfrewshire. As an honorary lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
, Burns was involved in setting up a training ship scheme which was established on HMS Cumberland
HMS Cumberland (1842)
HMS Cumberland was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 October 1842 at Chatham Dockyard.She carried a crew of 620 men. In March 1854 she sailed to the Baltic Sea as war with Russia was imminent . Cumberland was involved in the attack on Bomarsund, Finland in...
. He travelled widely, and was a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
. He was also a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, The Travellers’, and The Glasgow Clubs.
He was author of several literary works, including ‘A Wild Night’, Glimpses of Glasgow Low Life’, and, in 1887, The Adaption of Merchant Ships for War Purposes‘.
He inherited his father’s Baronetcy in 1890 and was created 1st Baron Inverclyde of Castle Wemyss, co. Renfrew
Baron Inverclyde
Baron Inverclyde, of Castle Wemyss in the County of Renfrew, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the Scottish shipowner Sir John Burns, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom in 1889...
on 28 July 1897. Burns had acquired Castle Wemyss
Castle Wemyss
Castle Wemyss was a large mansion in Wemyss Bay, Scotland.It stood high on Wemyss Point, overlooking the Firth of Clyde where it heads south towards the North Channel of the Irish Sea. It was built around 1850 for Charles Wilsone Brown, a property developer who had plans to develop the land around...
from Charles Wilsone Brown of Wemyss Bay in 1860, and had the building enlarged and remodelled in Scottish Baronial style by Robert William Billings
Robert William Billings
Robert William Billings was a London-born Victorian era painter and architect. He wrote a book called The Power of Form, in which he showed examples of the use of geometry in architecture. He also illustrated The Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland. Many paintings based on his...
.
In 1878, John Burns and his wife accompanied several other people, including writer Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
, on a trip to Iceland aboard the Burns ship Mastiff. Trollope described the trip in his book How the 'Mastiffs' went to Iceland.
He died on 12 February 1901; his wife Emily, dying the next day. They were interred together. He was succeeded by his son, George Arbuthnot Burns, 2nd Baron Inverclyde
George Burns, 2nd Baron Inverclyde
George Arbuthnot Burns, 2nd Baron Inverclyde was a ship owner. Burns was the elder son of John Burns, First Baron Inverclyde ....
(1861–1905)