Sir John Donald Pollock, 1st Baronet

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

LLD (23 November 1868 – 4 June 1962) was a Scottish physician, industrialist and philanthropist who served as

Rector of the University of Edinburgh The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role T ...

from 1939 to 1945 and gave land to the University to build

halls of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

Pollock Halls of Residence Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. '' Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as "pollock" in North America, Ireland and the United Ki ...

were built on the site, and were named for him.

Life

He was born in

Galashiels Galashiels (; , ) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive history in the textile in ...

on 23 November 1868 the son of Margaret (née Donald) and Rev John Barr Pollock. He studied science at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

then transferred to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

to study medicine, graduating with an MB Chb in 1892 and gaining his MD in 1895. He then worked as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

South Kensington South Kensington is a district at the West End of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with the advent of the ra ...

. From 1908 he became the personal physician and companion to the Maurice FitzGerald, 6th Duke of Leinster, who lived in his own personal villa at the asylum at Craig House 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 ...

. This role continued until the Duke's death in 1922. His service to the Duke was partially interrupted by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

during which he served as a Medical Officer attached to the

Royal Navy Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original R ...

. He then moved into industry, in 1922 becoming a Partner in Metal Industries Ltd and in 1932 taking on an additional role at the

British Oxygen Company BOC Limited is a British based multinational, industrial gas company. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange, since 2006 it has been a subsidiary of Linde plc. History Brin's Oxygen Company was formed in 1886, by two French brothers, ...

. He also provided funds to found the company "Turbulayr". In 1937 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 D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson, Sir Thomas Henry Holland,

James Pickering Kendall James Pickering Kendall FRS FRSE (30 July 1889, in Chobham, Surrey – 14 June 1978, in Edinburgh) was a British chemist. Life Kendall was born in Chobham, Surrey to soldier William Henry Kendall of the Royal Horse Artillery, and his second wi ...

and Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker. In 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 ...

he was an Honorary Colonel in the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equi ...

and also an Honorary

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. On 2 February 1939 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of

in the

County of Midlothian Midlothian is a historic county of Scotland. It emerged in the Middle Ages as the territory surrounding the city of Edinburgh within the wider Lothian region, and was formally called the "shire of Edinburgh" or Edinburghshire until the 20th ce ...

. Pollock was Rector of the

from 1939 to 1945 and gifted the site which now holds the student accommodation known as

. From 1943 to 1961 Pollock was an active members of the ruling council of the

Cockburn Association The Cockburn Association, often subtitled Edinburgh Civic Trust, is an architectural, conservation, and urban planning monitoring organisation in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. The Cockburn Association, founded in 1875, is one o ...

, Edinburgh's influential long-running conservation organisation, serving first as its convener from 1943–54 and then as its vice-president from 1955–61. He died on 4 June 1962 at Manor House, a large villa on Boswall Road in the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

district of Edinburgh, with panoramas overlooking the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

. He was unmarried and had no children; his title died with him.

Artistic recognition

His portrait, dressed as Rector, was painted by

Stanley Cursiter Stanley Cursiter (29 April 1887 – 22 April 1976) was an Orcadian artist who played an important role in introducing Post-Impressionism and Futurism to Scotland. He served as the keeper (1919–1930), then director (1930–1948), of the Nat ...

and is held by the University of Edinburgh.

References

Rectors of the University of Edinburgh 1868 births 1962 deaths People from Galashiels Nobility from the Scottish Borders 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish industrialists Scottish philanthropists Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force wing commanders {{Scotland-bio-stub

Life

Artistic recognition

See also

References