Alexander Whitelaw (1823–1879) was a Scottish ironmaster, philanthropist and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

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 popu ...

from 1874 until his death.

Life

Whitelaw was born in 1823 in Drumpark in Monklands and was educated at Grange School,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and then took some time to study mining. In 1846 he married Barbara Forbes Lockhart of

Cambusnethan Cambusnethan is a large village and suburb on the eastern edge of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire in Scotland. It is approximately long, straddling both sides of the A722 on a hill overlooking Wishaw. Etymology The name "''Cambusnethan"'' was his ...

which established a marital connection to the Baird family. The Baird family founded the iron smelting firm of William Baird & Co., in which Whitelaw became a managing partner. The Baird family acquired the Gartsherrie coal fields in 1826 and the mansion and estate in 1834. Through his philanthropy, he left endowments to churches and schools, including helping to found the Gartsherrie Academy, and for the 1863–1864 session he was Vice President of the Academy. Whitelaw's interest in education led him to become Chairman of the Glasgow School Board in 1873. One cartoon shows him having administered a thrashing to

John Page Hopps John Page Hopps (6 November 1834 – 6 April 1911) was a Unitarian minister and spiritualist.Watts, Michael R. (2015). ''The Dissenters: Volume III: The Crisis and Conscience of Nonconformity''. Oxford University Press. pp. 37-38. Hopps was bor ...

, a fellow Board member with whom he had clashed. In 1863, Whitelaw is recorded in the "Curler's Annual" as being the President of the Coatbridge Cricket Club. Whitelaw was a Conservative and represented Glasgow as an MP from 1874 until his death in 1879. His second son Graeme was MP for North West Lanarkshire and his third son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was MP for Perth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitelaw, Alexander 1823 births 1879 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) UK MPs 1874–1880