Sir Charles Wright Macara, 1st Baronet (1845–1929) was a British cotton spinner and textile industrialist.

Life

He was born in the manse at

Strathmiglo Strathmiglo () (Ordnance Survey ) is a village and parish in the north east of Fife, Scotland on the River Eden, Fife, River Eden. It lies on the old A91 road from Milnathort to Cupar and St. Andrews but was bypassed by a new road to the north ...

on 11 January 1845, the son of Rev William Macara (1812-1889), a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and his wife, Charlotte Grace Cowpar of

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...

. Charles Macara was educated privately and at Edinburgh. He was employed in 1862 in Manchester. In 1880 Macara was made chairman and managing director of Henry Bannerman & Sons (Ltd.) and Bannerman Mills Co. (Ltd.). Motivated by the

Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster The Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster occurred on the evening of the 9th December 1886 when 27 lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat men lost their lives trying to save the crew of the German barque ''Mexico''. 14 of the 16 crew members aboard ...

, he founded in 1891, under the auspices of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

, the Lifeboat Saturday Movement to provide charity for the widows and orphans of drowned crew members. Marion Macara assisted him and founded the Ladies Lifeboat Guild. He directed the Lifeboat Saturday Movement, throughout the United Kingdom, until 1896. The initial Lifeboat Saturday raised over £5,000 and featured a parade of bands, floats and lifeboats through the streets of Manchester; it was the first recorded charity street collection. Similar parades were subsequently held in other Lancashire cities. The Lifeboat Saturday Movement provided collecting-boxes and organised door-to-door charitable solicitations and was the precursor of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Flag Day. In 1911 he was created a baronet. He received many foreign honours, including ''Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur'' and ''Chevalier de l'Ordre de Léopold''. He died in Bucklow in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

on 2 January 1929.

Family

In January 1875 he married Marion Young (1848–1938), a cousin of Sir

Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. ...

of the Manchester firm of Henry Bannerman & Sons, cotton spinners and textile merchants. Sir Charles and Lady Macara had two sons and four daughters. Their elder son William Cowper Macara (1875–1931) inherited the title. Their younger son Charles Douglas Macara (1885–1891) did not survive until adulthood.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macara, Sir Charles Wright, 1st Baronet 1845 births 1929 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Scottish industrialists British textile industry businesspeople Textile manufacturers of England People from Fife 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople

Life

Family

Selected publications

See also

References