Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman (6 July 1847 – 13 August 1937), was an English and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

shipping magnate. He was born in the Scottish town of

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

. Runciman was the fourth son of Walter Runciman, master of a schooner and later a member of the coastguard, and Jane, oldest daughter of John Finlay, shipowner, also of Dunbar. The family moved to the coastguard station at

Cresswell, Northumberland Cresswell is a village in Northumberland, England. It is about to the north of Ashington, on the North Sea coast. History The place-name 'Cresswell' is first attested in the Close Roll for 1234, where it appears as ''Kereswell''. It appears as ...

, because his father was appointed a position there. After attending a church school, the younger Walter ran away from home to work at sea in 1859. This explains why he was referred to by his grandson

Steven Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

as "a

Geordie Geordie ( ), sometimes known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English, is an English dialect and accent spoken in the Tyneside area of North East England. It developed as a variety of the old Northumbrian dialect and became espe ...

of Scots descent who ran away to sea at 11, was a master mariner by 21 and founded a shipping line", and, usefully for

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

s of a related area, Runciman wrote several books based on his years at sea. He also served briefly as a Liberal Member of Parliament. In 1889, Runciman founded the South Shields Shipping Company, based in the port of

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

, on the south bank at the mouth of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

, which was then part of

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

but now in

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...

. Walter Runciman was

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and Secretary, and John Elliott was the chairman. In 1892 the company offices moved up the River Tyne to the city-port of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. In April 1897 the company changed its name to Moor Line Ltd. Runciman and his son, who had carried on business as partners in Runciman and Co, were appointed managing directors of Moor Line. Elliott died in 1898 and the elder Runciman held the position of chairman until his death in 1937. In 1922 Runciman acquired a yacht, , that had been built in 1874 for

Thomas Brassey Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...

. In 1929 he sold her for scrap, and replaced her with a new yacht, ''Sunbeam II'', which he ordered from

William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scotland, Scottish shipbuilder, shipbuilding company. History The shipbuilding interests of the Denny family date back to William Denny (born 1779), for whom ships a ...

. Runciman was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1906, and was Liberal MP for

Hartlepool Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...

from 1914 to 1918. In 1910 he wrote "The Tragedy of St. Helena", an account of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's exile and death. In 1933, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Runciman of Shoreston. Four years later his son, the long-serving MP Walter Runciman (1870–1949), followed him into the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

with the title Viscount Runciman of Doxford. A large inheritance bestowed to his grandson

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman (7 July 1903 – 1 November 2000), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume '' A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). His works had a profound impact on the popula ...

, enabled him to become an independent scholar who travelled widely and was a leading scholar of the Crusades.

References

External links

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Sir Walter Runciman (1847-1937)
Royal Museums Greenwich, portrait and biography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Runciman, Walter Runciman, 1st Baron 1847 births 1937 deaths People from Dunbar Nobility from East Lothian Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs who were granted peerages Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British businesspeople in shipping Barons created by George V