Sir James Bell, 1st Baronet, DL JP (1850 – 1929) was a 19th-century Scottish shipping owner and coal-exporter who served as

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...

from 1892 to 1896.

Life

He was born in

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 ...

on 16 January 1850, the son of John Bell, a collector of customs. In 1890 he lived at 7 Marlborough Terrace in Glasgow. He was senior partner of Bell Brothers & McLelland, shipowners, usually using D & W Henderson Ltd as their builder, mainly using the Meadowside shipyard. Bell served as Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1892 to 1896. In his role as Lord Provost he was most notable for adding electricity to the city streets, officially switching on the first street lights in 1893. He also improved the city sewage treatment and organised a new park, now known as

Bellahouston Park Bellahouston Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Bhaile Ùisdean'') is a public park in the Bellahouston district on the South Side of Glasgow, Scotland, between the areas of Craigton, Dumbreck, Ibrox and Mosspark covering an area of . The main ...

.Sir James Bell
Retrieved 2 July 2018. For his service, he was created a baronet as "Baronet of Marlborough Terrace" by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in 1895. He served as Honorary Colonel of the

1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers The 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers was a Scottish Volunteer unit of the British Army. Originally raised in Glasgow from 1859, it later became a battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). During World War I it served on the Western Front ...

from 7 October 1893 to 3 December 1902. In 1905 he lived at

Montgreenan Montgreenan is an estate in North Ayrshire, Parish of Kilwinning, Scotland. The Lugton Water runs through the policies and farmland of Montgreenan. Nearby are the hamlets of Torranyard and Auchentiber. The Lands of Montgreenan The name 'Gren ...

House near

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...

. He died at

in 1929.

Yachting

A serious yachtsman he entered the

Americas Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sailing (sport), sport of sailing. It is the oldest International sport, international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match racing, match ...

in 1887 with his yacht "Thistle" but was unsuccessful. The yacht was designed by

George Lennox Watson George Lennox Watson (30 October 1851 – 12 November 1904) was a Scottish naval architect. Born in Glasgow, son of Thomas Lennox Watson, a doctor at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and grandson of Sir Timothy Burstall, engineer and entrant at the ...

and built by D & W Henderson in the winter of 1886/7. The ship was captained by John and

Charlie Barr Charles Barr (11 July 1864 – 24 January 1911), was an accomplished sailing skipper who three times captained winning America's Cup yachts. Early life Charlie Barr was born in Gourock, Scotland in 1864 and first apprenticed as a grocer before w ...

. It lost out to the American yacht "Volunteer". It was then returned to Europe and sold to

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

for personal use under the name "Meteor". It was broken up in 1921. He was Vice Commodore of the

Royal Clyde Yacht Club Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

Family

His wife, Helen Findlay of Hallhill, died in 1909. Their son was killed at the

Battle of Bakenlaagte The Battle of Bakenlaagte occurred on 30 October 1901 during the guerrilla phase of Anglo-Boer war of 1899–1902. The battle saw the Eastern Transvaal Boer commandos of Generals Grobler, Brits, Viljoen and Louis Botha attack the rear guard of C ...

in the Boer War. Their son John Bell (1876-1943) became 2nd Baronet of Marlbourough Terrace in 1929 on his father's death.

Artistic Recognition

He was portrayed in office by

Hubert von Herkomer Sir Hubert von Herkomer (born as Hubert Herkomer; 26 May 1849 – 31 March 1914) was a Bavarian-born British painter, pioneering film-director, and composer. Though a very successful portrait artist, especially of men, he is mainly remembered fo ...

References

Scottish businesspeople Lord Provosts of Glasgow Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom 1850 births 1929 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow {{Scotland-bio-stub