Dame Harriet Jane Findlay, Lady Findlay, DBE ( Backhouse; 12 March 1880 – 24 July 1954) was a British political activist and philanthropist.

Life

Harriet Jane Backhouse was the daughter of Sir Jonathan Edmund Backhouse, 1st Bt. (15 November 1849 – 27 July 1918) and Florence Trelawny (died 11 October 1902). She married

Sir John Ritchie Findlay, 1st Baronet Sir John Ritchie Findlay, 1st Baronet, (13 January 1866 – 13 April 1930), a Scotsman, was the owner of the business that published ''The Scotsman'', a philanthropist, and later in life Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire. Family and education Joh ...

(son of

John Ritchie Findlay John Ritchie Findlay (21 October 1824 – 16 October 1898) was a Scottish newspaper owner and philanthropist. Life John Ritchie Findlay was born at Arbroath, Angus, son of Peter Findlay and was educated at Edinburgh University. In 1842, follo ...

and Susan Leslie) on 9 July 1901. In 1919, Findlay joined

Rosaline Masson Rosaline Masson (1867–1949) was a Scottish author and a prolific writer of novels, biographies, histories and other works. Life Rosaline Masson was born on 6 May 1867 in Edinburgh and was the daughter of suffrage campaigner Emily Rosaline ...

, Ella Millar and Miss M.R. MacLeod as the first four women to become members of the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association (Edinburgh's Civic Trust) is one of the world's oldest architectural conservation and urban planning monitoring organisations, founded in 1875. The Scottish judge Henry Cockburn (1779–1854) was a prominent campaigner t ...

, Edinburgh's influential conservation organisation formed in 1875 to protect and preserve the built heritage, natural environment and civic amenity in the city. She was active in Scottish politics becoming a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in Edinburgh in 1926 and being elected president of the Scottish Unionist Association in 1927. She chaired the management board of the

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

during the Depression. She died on 24 July 1954, aged 74.

DBE

Lady Harriet Findlay was invested as a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

( DBE) in 1929 and was styled as Dame Harriet Findlay.

Family

Husband: *

(b. 13 January 1866 – d. 13 April 1930) Children: * Elizabeth Findlay (died 1958) * Laetitia Florence Findlay (died 5 July 1978) * Sir John Edmund Ritchie Findlay, 2nd Baronet (b. 14 June 1902 – d. 6 September 1962) * Lt.- Col. Sir Roland Lewis Findlay, 3rd Baronet (b. 14 July 1903 – d. 28 July 1979)

References

External links

Profile
peerage.com; accessed 20 February 2016.
Portrait
by

Sir James Guthrie Sir James Guthrie (10 June 1859 – 6 September 1930) was a Scotland, Scottish Painting, painter, associated with the Glasgow School#The Glasgow Boys, Glasgow Boys. He is best known in his own lifetime for his portraiture, although today mor ...

, wikigallery.org; accessed 25 August 2017
Portrait
by

David Foggie David Foggie Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (31 December 1878 Dundee – 2 June 1948), was a Scottish painter, born to parents James and Margaret Foggie. By the time of his death, David Foggie was a known name across Scotland. Since that time he ...

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

; accessed 25 August 2017

Sources

* Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition'', 3 volumes (

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd., 2003), volume 1, page 208. {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, Harriet 1880 births 1954 deaths Harriet Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing Place of death missing Scottish justices of the peace Scottish politicians Harriet Wives of baronets Daughters of baronets 20th-century Scottish businesspeople