Harry Duncan McGowan, 1st Baron McGowan

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(3 June 1874 – 13 July 1961) LLD DCL, was a prominent Scottish industrialist who served as

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

for 20 years.

Early life and education

McGowan was the only son of Henry McGowan Esq. and his wife Agnes (née Wilson). He was educated at

Hutchesons' Grammar School Hutchesons' Grammar School is a private, co-educational day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School by George Hutcheson and Thomas Hutcheson in 1641, making it the 19th oldest scho ...

, an independent school in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Allan Glen's School Allan Glen's School was, for most of its existence, a State school, local authority, selective Secondary education, secondary school for boys in Glasgow, Scotland, charging nominal fees for tuition. It was founded by the Allan Glen's Endowment ...

. He joined the Nobel Explosives Company, the company founded by

Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...

, as an executive officer. In 1918 he became Chairman and Managing Director of Explosives Trade Ltd (from 1920 known as Nobel Industries Ltd), a position he held until the formation of ICI.

Career

In 1926 Nobel Industries merged with

Brunner Mond Brunner may refer to: Places * Brunner, New Zealand * Lake Brunner, New Zealand * Brunner Mine, New Zealand * Brunner, Houston, United States * Brunner (crater), lunar crater Other uses * Brunner (surname) * Brunner the Bounty Hunter, a cha ...

, the

United Alkali Company United Alkali Company Limited was a British chemical company formed in 1890, employing the Leblanc process to produce soda ash for the glass, textile, soap, and paper industries. It became one of the top four British chemical companies merged in ...

and the

British Dyestuffs Corporation British Dyestuffs Corporation Ltd (BDC) was a British company formed in 1919 from the merger of British Dyes Ltd with Levinstein Ltd. The British Government was the company's largest shareholder, and had two directors on the board. Backgrou ...

to form

(ICI). The merger, orchestrated by

Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett, PC, FRS, DL (23 October 1868 – 27 December 1930), known as Sir Alfred Mond, Bt between 1910 and 1928, was a British industrialist, financier and politician. In his later life he became an active Z ...

and McGowan, created one of the world's largest industrial corporations at the time.Greenaway, Frank (2004) 'Mond family ( 1867–1973)', ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Retrieved 9 March 2007. McGowan succeeded Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett, Lord Melchett as Chairman and Managing Director in 1930 and remained Chairman until 1950. He was president of the

Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Offices The society's headquarters is in Belgrave Square, London. There are semi-in ...

in 1931. McGowan was appointed a

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

and on 24 February 1937 he was raised to the peerage as Baron McGowan, of Ardeer in the

County of Ayr Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, following the

1937 New Year Honours The 1937 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were the first honours of George VI's reign and were announ ...

. McGowan was a vegetarian who supported

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

. He served as president of

League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and anim ...

and vice-president of the London Robert Louis Stevenson Club. McGowan married Jean, daughter of William Young, in 1903. They had two sons and two daughters. He was Hon. Colonel in the 52nd Lowland Divisional Signals,

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

from 1934 to 1939. He died in July 1961, aged 87, and was succeeded in the barony by his elder son Harry.

Arms

In literature and popular culture

Although personally far from wealthy by contemporary standards, McGowan's organisation of the purchase of

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

shares to the value of £5 million by Explosives Trades Ltd., enabled

Pierre S. du Pont Pierre Samuel du Pont (; January 15, 1870 – April 4, 1954) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family. He was president of DuPont from 1915 to 1919, and was on its board of directors un ...

's financial rescue of the American car manufacturer from bankruptcy; this episode was naively satirised by Neil Munro in his Erchie MacPherson story "Our Mystery Millionaire", first published in the ''

Glasgow Evening News The ''Glasgow Evening News'' was an important Scottish newspaper in the early 20th century. It was founded as the ''Glasgow Evening Post'' in 1866 and became the ''Evening News'' in 1915. In 1922, Gomer Berry (later 1st Viscount Kemsley) bought ...

'' of 17th May 1920.Munro, Neil, "Our Mystery Millionaire", in Osborne, Brian D. & Armstrong, Ronald (eds.) (2002), ''Erchie, My Droll Friend'',

Birlinn Limited Birlinn Limited is an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1992 by managing director Hugh Andrew. Imprints Birlinn Limited is composed of a number of imprints, including: *Birlinn, which publishes Sc ...

, Edinburgh, pp. 501 - 504,

References

* Oxbury, Harold. ''Great Britons: Twentieth Century Lives''. Promotional Reprint Company, 1993. * Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgowan, Harry Mcgowan, 1st Baron 1874 births 1961 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow Nobility from Glasgow People educated at Allan Glen's School Scottish industrialists Imperial Chemical Industries executives Scottish chairpersons of corporations 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Barons created by George VI