Sir Duncan McDonald (20 September 1921 – 23 February 1997) was a Scottish engineer and businessman closely associated with

Northern Engineering Industries Northern Engineering Industries plc (NEI) was a British engineering firm, which for over 10 years was one of the largest employers on Tyneside. Its headquarters were based at the Regent Centre at Gosforth in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The com ...

. He specialised in the development of ultra high voltage transformers. He pioneered the use of computers within the design process, and was one of the first to realise the potential of the

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of ...

in business.

Life

He was born in

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port city, port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV of Scotland, Malcolm IV ...

, under the shadow of the

Forth Rail Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

, the son of Robert McDonald, a cable-jointer with the South of Scotland Electricity Board, and his wife, Helen Orrick. He was raised in

then attended Dunfermline High School. He then went to

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI i ...

graduating in Electrical Power Engineering in 1942. His first job was with

British Thomson-Houston British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industry, heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England, and founded as a subsidiary of the General Electric Company (GE) of Schenectady, New York, United States ...

in Rugby, working (during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

) on radar research. In 1952 he developed Britain's first 275,000 volt transformer for the National Grid. In 1954 he returned to Scotland to join Bruce Peebles & Co. Ltd. (later Parsons Peebles) as their chief transformer designer. By 1962 he was Managing Director of the company. Through company amalgamations he became Chief Executive of Reyrolle Parsons Group and from there Chief Executive of the NEI group. In 1969 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Sir John Toothill, William E J Farvis and Oppenshaw Taylor. He received honorary doctorates from both

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted uni ...

and

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick unive ...

. In 1983 he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for services to British Exports and knighted by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In later life he was a non-executive director of both General Accident and the Northern Rock Building Society. He retired in May 1986 and died in

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 ...

on 23 February 1997.

Family

In 1955 he married Jane Anne Guckian. They had three sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Duncan 1921 births 1997 deaths British electrical engineers 20th-century British businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire