Sir George Burns, 1st Baronet (10 December 1795 – 2 June 1890) was a Scottish

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

. Burns was born in Glasgow, the son of Rev John Burns (1744–1839), a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister. George was the younger brother of

James Burns (1789-1871) James Burns (9 June 1789 – 6 September 1871), was a shipowner born in Glasgow. Family Burns was the third son of the Revd Dr John Burns (1744–1839), minister of the Barony parish of Glasgow, and his wife, Elizabeth, née Stevenson. His eld ...

, with whom he formed a

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

, J. & G. Burns. Together, they started sailing ships between Glasgow and Liverpool, as well as across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

to Canada and the United States. J. & G. Burns set up the regular steamer service to the Inner and

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

. This was sold to David Hutcheson & Co in 1851, and by the mid-1870s, it formed the basis of

David MacBrayne Ltd David MacBrayne is a limited company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as the private shipping company David Hutcheson & Co. with three partners, David Hutcheson, Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne, it passed in 1878 to David ...

, which today operates as

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

across the west coast of Scotland. Burns was party to the consolidation of a number of companies, including the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, into the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

, which had been begun by Sir

Samuel Cunard Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet (21 November 1787 – 28 April 1865), was a British-Canadian shipping magnate, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line, establishing the first scheduled steamship connection with North America. ...

. The Cunard Line merged with the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

in 1934, and was to launch

liner Liner or LINER may refer to: Line drawing * Eye liner, a type of makeup * Marker pen, a porous-tip pen with its own ink source * Multiple lining tool used in engraving * A sable brush used by coach painters Linings * Acoustic liner, a no ...

s such as the RMS ''Queen Mary'' (1936). Today it is a US-owned cruise company, which operated the famous ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner. Built for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel, operating sin ...

'' (QE2). In addition to his shipping interests, Burns was also one of the largest shareholders in The Glasgow and South-Western Railway Burns retired to

Wemyss Bay Wemyss Bay () is a village on the coast of the Firth of Clyde in Inverclyde in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is in the traditional county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. It is adjacent to Skelmorlie, North Ayrshire. The town ...

in what is now

Inverclyde Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...

(

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

) . He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

at age 94 in 1889, the oldest ever recipient of the award. A devout

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

, Edwin Hodder wrote a

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of Burns, and J. J. Burnet's Inverclyde Church was instituted in the memory of Burns and his wife.

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

(1829–1901), his eldest son, succeeded him in the baronetcy, became head of the Cunard Company and was created a peer, under the title of

Baron Inverclyde Baron Inverclyde, of Castle Wemyss in the County of Renfrew, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the Scottish shipowner John Burns, 1st Baron Inverclyde, Sir John Burns, 2nd Baronet. The Baronetcy had been ...

, in 1897.

References

External links

1795 births 1890 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow Nobility from Glasgow Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Scottish company founders Ship owners Scottish Episcopalians Cambuslang People associated with Inverclyde Scottish businesspeople in shipping 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Cunard Line personnel {{UK-business-bio-1790s-stub