David Duncan (1831 – 30 December 1886) was a British merchant and shipper and a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician who briefly represented the seat of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

. Duncan was born at

Alyth Alyth () ( gd, Ailt) is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. In 2016 the town had an estimated population of 2,400. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal charter of Willia ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, the fourth son of James Duncan, a manufacturer and merchant, and was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

. He and his elder brother James went to South America where they became very successful traders. In 1851 he went into partnership with

Alexander Balfour Alexander Balfour (2 September 1824 – 16 April 1886) was a Scottish merchant and founder of the Liverpool shipping company Balfour Williamson. Biography Balfour was born in Leven, Fife, the son of Henry Balfour, a foundry owner. He was e ...

and

Stephen Williamson Stephen Williamson (28 June 1827 – 16 June 1903) was a founder of the Liverpool shipping company Balfour Williamson & Co. and a Scottish Liberal Party politician. He was born in Cellardyke, Fife in 1827, the son of Archibald Williamson, a sh ...

in the shipping business of Balfour Williamson. He and Williamson were based in Valparaiso while Balfour looked after the Liverpool end of the business. After the partnership ran into personal difficulties, Duncan left Balfour Williamson in 1863, and formed his own company, Duncan Fox & Co., which became a great commercial rival of Balfour Williamson in Chile, with interests in mining as well as shipping. He returned to England and lived at Gayton Hall in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

where he was a J. P. and was also a director of the

Royal Insurance Royal Insurance Holdings plc was a large insurance business originating in Liverpool but based in London from the early 20th century. It merged with Sun Alliance in 1996 to form the Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group. History Formation and e ...

Company. In 1885 he was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

, but was unseated on petition. He was then elected to represent Liverpool Exchange which he held until his death later that year.Illustrated London News 8 January 1887
/ref> In 1856 Duncan married Catherine Williamson of Anstruther, sister of

. Their eldest son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

was born in Valparaiso. James was also briefly MP for Barrow-in-Furness. His grandson by another son, Sir James Duncan, was also an MP and became a baronet.

References

External links

*
Clan Duncan Society - Duncans of Jordanstone
1830 births 1886 deaths British businesspeople in shipping People from Angus, Scotland People educated at the High School of Dundee Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 19th-century British businesspeople {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub