John Mackintosh Mackay Munro FRSE MIME MICE (1853-1925) was a Scottish businessman and electrical engineer.

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 ...

in 1853 the son of David Munro, engineer, who had founded Munro & Anderson in 1840. The family lived at 55 Malta Street. He was educated at

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

then studied at

Anderson's College The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

. In March 1880 he tried to set up a telephone exchange in Glasgow, but abandoned the project due to "patent difficulties". If successful this would have been one of the first exchanges in Britain. In 1894 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were

William Thomson, Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important ...

, James Thomson Bottomley,

Magnus Maclean Prof Magnus Maclean FRSE MIEE MICE LLD (1857-1937) was an electrical engineer who assisted Lord Kelvin in his electrical experiments and later became Professor of Electrical Engineering in Glasgow (one of the first to hold such a title). The Magnu ...

, and

Alexander Galt Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, (September 6, 1817 – September 19, 1893) was a politician and a father of the Canadian Confederation. Early life Galt was born in Chelsea, England on September 6, 1817. He was the son of John Galt, a Scottish ...

. In 1906 he became Chairman of the

Institute of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Tel ...

. Up until 1910 he lived at Hawarden, 59 Partickhill Road then moved to Blythswood Square for his final years. In that year, following the death of his father, he became Director and Partner in Anderson & Munro. He died on 29 December 1925.

Family

He was father to Donald Smeaton Munro (b.1879), who also became an engineer and was involved in converting Edinburgh's gas lights to electricity.Who's Who in Engineering J E Sears

References

1853 births 1925 deaths Engineers from Glasgow People educated at the Glasgow Academy Scottish electrical engineers Scottish businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-engineer-stub