Sir Duncan McDonald (20 September 1921 – 23 February 1997) was a Scottish engineer and businessman closely associated with

Northern Engineering Industries Northern Engineering Industries plc (NEI) was a British engineering firm, which for over 10 years was one of the largest employers on Tyneside. Its headquarters were based at the Regent Centre at Gosforth in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The com ...

. He specialised in the development of ultra high voltage transformers. He pioneered the use of computers within the design process, and was one of the first to realise the potential of the

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geological Pacific Ring of Fire. List ...

in business.

Life

He was born in

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; ) is a coastal town, parish and historic Royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town lies on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh city centre and south of Dunfermline. A town of ancient origin, Inverke ...

, under the shadow of the

Forth Rail Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

, the son of Robert McDonald, a cable-jointer with the South of Scotland Electricity Board, and his wife, Helen Orrick. He was raised in

then attended Dunfermline High School. He then went to

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

graduating in Electrical Power Engineering in 1942. His first job was with

British Thomson-Houston British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British engineering and heavy industry, heavy industrial company, based at Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Originally founded to sell products from the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, it soon became a manufac ...

in Rugby, working (during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) on radar research. In 1952 he developed Britain's first 275,000 volt transformer for the National Grid. In 1954 he returned to Scotland to join Bruce Peebles & Co. Ltd. (later Parsons Peebles) as their chief transformer designer. By 1962 he was managing director of the company. Through company amalgamations he became Chief Executive of

Reyrolle Parsons Reyrolle Parsons was an engineering company, which during the 1970s, was the largest private employer on Tyneside. It was based in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The company was formed by the merger of A. Reyrolle & Company and C. A. Parsons and Com ...

and from there Chief Executive of

. In 1969 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Sir John Toothill, William E J Farvis and Oppenshaw Taylor. He received honorary doctorates from both

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

and

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

. In 1983 he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to British Exports and knighted by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. In later life he was a non-executive director of both

General Accident General Accident plc was a large insurance business based in Perth, Scotland. It merged with Commercial Union in 1998 to form CGU plc. History The Norie-Miller years The Employers' Liability Act 1880 ( 43 & 44 Vict. c. 42) opened a new are ...

and the Northern Rock Building Society. He retired in May 1986 and died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 23 February 1997.

Family

In 1955 he married Jane Anne Guckian. They had three sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Duncan 1921 births 1997 deaths Scottish electrical engineers Scottish industrialists 20th-century British businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Inverkeithing Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts