Alexander Dunlop Bell (1873–1937) was a businessman who served as the chairman of the

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

from 1932 to 1934.

Life

Bell was born on 14 November 1873 in

Angus, Scotland Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City (council area), Dundee City and Per ...

. He was the son of Reverend Benjamin Bell and Margaret (Dunlop) Bell. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, B.A. 1896, M.A. 1900. He married Nora Sunderland in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

on 24 June 1903. Alexander Dunlop Bell

Bell moved to Shanghai in 1907 and joined Barlow and Co, importers. He was manager of the firm until 1930 when he retired from executive duties. He was a member of the board of directors of the Shanghai Gas Company, Shanghai Water Works and Gordon & Co. He was also trustee of the estate of

Henry Lester Henry Lester (1840–1926) was a British architect, merchant and philanthropist in Shanghai. Birth and life in Britain Lester was born in Southampton in 1840 as the youngest of four brothers. After finishing his university studies, he returned ...

Bell was a member of the

Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the 1863 merger of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction under the terms of ...

from 1924. He was elected chairman in 1932 and 1933.

Death

Bell died in March 1937 in Shanghai. With the closing of foreign cemeteries in the 1950s in Shanghai, his body was reinterred at

Hong Kong Cemetery Hong Kong Cemetery, formerly Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Cemetery and before that Hong Kong Colonial Cemetery, is one of the early Christian cemeteries in Hong Kong dating to its colonial era beginning in 1845. It is located beside the racecour ...

Happy Valley, Hong Kong Happy Valley ( zh, first=t, t=跑馬地) is an upper-income residential List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Caroline Hill to the east, Jardine's Lookout to the south, Morrison Hi ...

in 1956.

External links

Bell declaring the Shanghai Museum open to the public in 1933

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Alexander Dunlop History of Shanghai Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council 1873 births 1937 deaths British expatriates in China