George Arbuthnot Burns, 2nd Baron Inverclyde (17 September 1861 – 8 October 1905) was the chairman of the board of the Cunard Line fleet of ocean liners. Burns was the elder son of

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

, First Baron Inverclyde (24 June 1829 – 12 February 1901). The Burns' fleet of ships amounted to over 100 vessels, trading between the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, and the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. His father eventually handed him control of the

Cunard Steamship Company Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

, making him chairman. He was Justice of the Peace for

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotl ...

and

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

, and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 1 July 1902. He was also Lord Dean of Guild of the City of Glasgow, 1903–4. On 6 April 1886, he married Mary Fergusson, younger daughter of Hickson Fergusson, of The Knowe, Ayrshire. However, he died of pneumonia and complications of surgery at the age of 44. He had no children, and the titles and business passed to his younger brother, James Cleland Burns, 3rd Baron Inverclyde (1864–1919).L. G. Pine, ''The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms'' (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 156. Cited by ThePeerage.com He spearheaded the development of the steamships Lusitania and RMS Mauretania but died before the ships were launched. His widow, Lady Mary, christened the ''Lusitania'' at her launching in June 1906.

References

Book cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inverclyde, George Burns, 2nd Baron Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom 1861 births 1905 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow People associated with Inverclyde Directors of the Glasgow and South Western Railway 19th-century British businesspeople