Sir William Slater Brown (1844–1917) was an early 20th century Scottish businessman who served as

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by City_of_Edinburgh_Council, the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the e ...

from 1909 to 1912.

Life

He was born in 1844 the second son of Henry Raeburn Brown (b.1806) a tailor, and his wife Helen Clyde. In later life he lived at 17 Dean Terrace in the Stockbridge district of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. In 1909 he succeeded James Puckering Gibson as

. During his period of office his duties included laying the foundation stone on

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

Town Hall. As with

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 ...

the building of a Town Hall was an odd gesture as Portobello had ceased to be an independent town and was then part of Edinburgh. Brown was knighted in the second year of his provostship by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

. He was succeeded as Lord Provost by

Robert Kirk Inches Sir Robert Kirk Inches (c. 1845 – 2 August 1918) was a Scottish goldsmith and silversmith. He co-founded the jewellerHamilton & Inchesand served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1912 to 1916. Early life He was born around 1845. He was the s ...

in 1912. He died on 19 April 1917 and is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

Family

He was married to Margaret Dods around 1865 and they had six children including Henry Raeburn Brown (b.1869).

Artistic recognition

He was portrayed in his Lord Provost robes by

George Fiddes Watt :'' Not to be confused with George Frederic Watts''. George Fiddes Watt (15 February 1873 – 22 November 1960) was a Scottish portrait painter and engraver. Biography Watt studied art at Gray's School of Art, Edinburgh and the Royal Scottis ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William Slater 1844 births 1917 deaths Lord Provosts of Edinburgh