Sir Nathaniel Dunlop (1830–1919) was a 19th-century British businessman, shipowner and philanthropist, linked to the Allan Steamship Line. He was the longest serving Chairman of the Clyde Navigation Trust. He was also the first Scottish Chairman of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom.

Life

The grave of Nathaniel Dunlop, Glasgow Necropolis

He was born in

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

on 7 April 1830, the son of Archibald Dunlop and his wife Jean Smith. He was educated in the grammar school there. He moved to Paisley in 1843 and subsequently around 1845 he moved to

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 ...

to work as a clerk for

Allan Line Royal Mail Steamers The Allan Shipping Line was started in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, trading and transporting between Scotland and Montreal, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had offic ...

. He became a manager in 1853. The most famous ship built under his control was the

SS Canadian SS ''Canadian'' was a British passenger ship which struck an iceberg and sank in the Strait of Belle Isle north of Cape Bauld () while she was travelling from Quebec, Canada to Liverpool, United Kingdom. Construction ''SS Canadian'' was la ...

. In Glasgow he lived at 1 Montgomerie Crescent in the

Kelvinside Kelvinside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde and is bounded by Broomhill, Dowanhill and Hyndland to the south with Kelvindale and the River Kelvin to the north. It is an affluent area of Gl ...

district. In 1898 he bought the estate of Shieldhill near Biggar. He was knighted Sir Nathaniel Dunlop of Shieldhill in 1907 by King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD) in the same year. He did much philanthropic work in Biggar and paid for the church in

Quothquan Quothquan (also formerly spelled Couth-Boan, meaning "the beautiful hill"; gd, A’ Choitcheann, pronounced , meaning "the common") is a village in Libberton parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is northwest of Biggar, and southeast of La ...

. He died on 15 November 1919 at Shieldhill. He is buried with his in-laws in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

. The large monument stands near the summit north of the main east-west path.

Family

He was married to Ellen Smith (1841-1867), daughter of George Smith (1777-1867), a major Glasgow shipowner. Ellen died at the birth of their only child, a daughter, Ellen Smith Dunlop (1867-1958), who continued his philanthropic work after his death.Smith and Dunlop grave, Glasgow Necropolis

Publications

*''The Canadian Trade as it Was and Is'' (1906)

References

1830 births 1919 deaths People from Campbeltown Scottish shipbuilders Scottish philanthropists 19th-century British philanthropists 19th-century Scottish businesspeople {{Scotland-business-bio-stub