Donald John Cameron

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(10 May 1894 – 11 July 1972) was a Scottish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, prominent in the first half of the 20th century. He was mainly active in the west of Scotland, where he designed schools and churches, although '' The Building News and Engineering Journal'' referred to him as being of "

septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater ( sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the trea ...

sewage repute" in 1900.''The Building News and Engineering Journal'' (23 March 1900), p. 424

Early life

Cameron was born on 10 May 1894 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 pop ...

, the son of seaman Hugh Cameron and Euphemia MacCormick.Donald John Cameron
at ScottishArchitects.org.uk He studied at the Glasgow School of Architecture, under Eugene Bourdon, between 1911 and 1916. The

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

affected his studies and training and Brand & Lithgow.

Career

After being articled to Brand & Lithgow, Cameron later joined the offices of

Thomas Lennox Watson Thomas Lennox Watson (21 August 1850 – 12 October 1920), FRIBA, was a Scottish architect and interior designer. Born in Glasgow, he submitted designs for the city's City Chambers (1880) and Kelvingrove Art Gallery (1892) competitions, bu ...

and Thomas Baird. He was also part of the architectural department of shipbuilders

Alexander Stephen and Sons Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Glasgow, on the River Clyde and, initially, on the east coast of Scotland. History The com ...

Linthouse Linthouse is a neighbourhood in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly south of the River Clyde and lies immediately west of Govan, with other adjacent areas including Shieldhall and the Southern General Hospital to the west, ...

. He began his own practice in Glasgow in 1922. Two years later, he formed a partnership with

Lithgows Lithgows Limited is a family-owned Scottish company that had a long involvement in shipbuilding, based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in Scotland. It has a continued involvement in marine resources. History Founding The Company w ...

, his former employer, at 183 West George Street. He was working out of his home office by 1934, having closed his Glasgow office. Cameron became a

Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educationa ...

in 1955. At least one of Cameron's designs, the Clachan-ath-Luib War Memorial in

North Uist North Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Tuath; sco, North Uise) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and ...

, is now a

listed structure In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Selected works

Selected works of Cameron include: *Clachan-ath-Luib War Memorial,

() *St Mun's Roman Catholic Church,

Dunoon Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well a ...

(1929) *

Golden Gate Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 193 ...

, Scottish Village,

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

(1939)

Personal life

Cameron was married to Constance Macdonald, with whom he had a son.

Death

He died on 11 July 1972, aged 78. He was in

Daliburgh Daliburgh ( gd, Dalabrog) is a crofting township on South Uist, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Daliburgh is situated west from Lochboisdale, has the second largest population of any township in South Uist, and is also in the parish of South U ...

in the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

at the time.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Donald 1894 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Scottish architects Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Architects from Glasgow Golden Gate International Exposition