Alexander Birnie (bapt. 19 October 1763 – 15 February 1835) was a Scottish merchant and shipowner.

Life and career

He was one of five sons born to James Birnie and Elizabeth Shepherd Birnie of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, Scotland.''Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564–1950'' Alexander made his way to London in the 1780s to establish himself as a general merchant.Holcomb, p. 43. His office was located at Lyme Street,

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

, in the heart of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and, later, in Mount Street, near

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

, in the fashionable West End. He lived initially at 10 Alpha Cottages, overlooking

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

. He and his family were at 10-12 Great Helen's Street by 1803. Birnie sent consignments of goods to South America and Britain's Australian colonies. He imported wool,

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train-oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tear drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil used in the cavities of sperm whales, ...

and other commodities from the colonies in his own and other vessels. His extensive dealings with Australia saw him become the London agent for Sydney merchant Robert Campbell, the Rev

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society. He played a leading role in bringing Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden w ...

and the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; ; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Gove ...

. His brother, James Birnie (1761–1844), a former sea captain, joined the firm and from about that time the partnership began to engage in sealing and South Sea whaling. James went to Australia in 1812 and established himself in Sydney where he acted as the local agent for Birnie & Co. Alexander's son George Birnie (1786-1863) joined the partnership and was sent to

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, Canada, as the firm's agent there between 1809 and 1813. Birnie & Co had at least ten

whaling ships A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

in operation in the 30 years between 1796 and 1826. These vessels often took passengers and cargo to ports in the southern hemisphere before engaging in sealing and whaling. Alexander Birnie was active in London as a philanthropist and a supporter of worthy causes. He was a director of the Royal Highland School Society. He was also an elder of the Scotch Church in

Swallow Street Swallow Street is a small street in the West End of London, running north from Piccadilly. It is about long. History The street was previously much longer and stretched as far north as Oxford Street. The first section of the street was built ...

. For many years he was a director of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

and he supplied missionaries and their families with free transport on his ships to the South Sea islands. He died at his home in Great Helen's Street on 15 February 1835, aged 72. He had married Ann Bayley in 1784 and they had at least nine children. His son, George, then took over as principal in the firm.Obituary for Alexander Birnie, ''The Evangelical Magazine and Missionary Chronicle'', 1835, London, pp. 114–115.

Notes

Bibliography

* Clayon, J.; Clayton, C. (2016). ''Shipowners investing in the South Sea whale fishery from Britain: 1775 to 1815''. Hassobury. . * Holcomb, J. (2013). ''Early merchant families of Sydney''. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing. . * Steven, M. (1966)
"Birnie, James (1762–1844)"
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Birnie, Alexander 1763 births 1835 deaths Ship owners 18th-century Scottish merchants 19th-century Scottish merchants Scottish company founders British people in whaling Scottish businesspeople in shipping Scottish philanthropists Sealers