George Mills (1808–1881) was a 19th-century Scottish shipbuilder, journalist and novelist.

Life

He was born 13 April 1808, the son of William Mills, a successful merchant trading between American and Britain (with bases in

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 popul ...

and

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, who was later Lord Provost of Glasgow. He studied at Glasgow University, but did not graduate, instead becoming a Manager of the

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

branch of his father's shipping company in 1827 (aged only 19). He organised steam packets between Leith and London from an office at

Newhaven harbour The Port of Newhaven is a port and associated docks complex located within Newhaven, East Sussex, England, situated at the mouth of the River Ouse. International ferries run to the French port of Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, a distance of . Although ...

. In 1833/34 Mills went into independent business with a partner, Charles Wood, creating "Wood & Mills", based at Littlemills in

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

west of Glasgow. Here they made iron-hull steamers and canal boats. Charles Wood dissolved the partnership around 1840 to set up alone, and Mills himself abandoned shipbuilding in 1844 due to a downturn in the market. In 1845 he began working both as a stockbroker and as Manager of the Bowling and Balloch Railway Company and the

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

Steamship Company (based at Balloch). In 1857 he branched out into journalism, creating the ''Glasgow Advertiser and Shipping Gazette''. Around 1860 Mills went into some degree of partnership with the Clyde shipbuilders Tod & Macgregor who built a ship to Mills' design. This was one of the first ever double-hulled ship and was named the SS Alliance. The ship was used as a blockade runner in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and was lost in 1867. From 1866 Mills ran the Milton Chemical Works. In 1869 he set up a newspaper ''The Northern Star'' in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

(not to be confused with its Liverpool predecessor). From 1871 he was a

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

for the '' Glasgow Mail''. He died at 6 India Street in Glasgow on 12 May 1881. He is presumed to be buried in the Mills family tomb at the Glasgow Necropolis.

Family

He was married with one son and two daughters.http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=628691.18

Publications

*''Craigclutha: A Tale of Old Glasgow and the West of Scotland'' (1857) *''I Remember'' (1858) *''The Beggar's Benison'' (1866)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, George 1808 births 1881 deaths Scottish male journalists Scottish male novelists Scottish stockbrokers Scottish shipbuilders Scottish company founders Scottish newspaper founders 19th-century Scottish businesspeople