John Ritchie Findlay (21 October 1824 – 16 October 1898) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

owner and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Life

John Ritchie Findlay was born at

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

, son of Peter Findlay and was educated at

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 ...

. In 1842, following the failure of his father's drapery business, he moved to Edinburgh and joined the publishing office of the newspaper ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'', co-founded and later solely owned by his great-uncle John Ritchie, with whom he initially lived. After a period as a clerk, he moved to the editorial office. Findlay became a partner in the paper in 1868, and in 1870 inherited the greater part of the property from his great-uncle. The large increase in the influence and circulation of the paper was in a great measure due to his activity and direction, and it brought him a fortune, which he spent during his lifetime in public benefaction. He presented to the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

, opened 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 ...

in 1889, and costing over 70,000 pounds sterling. In thanks for this, and in acknowledgement for his efforts in achieving the admission of women to the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the University of Edinburgh College of Medicine and Veterinar ...

, the Queen Mary Standing Committee commissioned a statue of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

for the Eastern facade of the building. He contributed largely to the collections of the

National Gallery of Scotland The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Playfa ...

. Findlay held numerous offices in antiquarian, educational and charitable societies, including: : The Society of Antiquaries (Secretary) :Association for the Medical Education of Women (President) :Edinburgh Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (Founder) :United Industrial School :Board of Manufactures (Trustee) :

Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh The Royal Hospital for Sick Children was a hospital in Sciennes, Edinburgh, Scotland, specialising in paediatric healthcare. Locally, it was commonly referred to simply as the "Sick Kids". The hospital provided emergency care for children from ...

(Director) In 1885 Findlay commissioned a substantial new house designed by the architect Sydney Mitchell in Edinburgh's West End, at 3 Rothesay Terrace. The house manages to blend well with its surroundings despite being much larger than its neighbours and in a more flamboyant style.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1886-7 Findlay also undertook a number of practical philanthropic projects under his own direct supervision, the most significant of which were concerned with the provision of 'ideal' workers' housing. In 1889 he built the "Well Court" development in Edinburgh's

Dean Village Dean Village (from ''dene'', meaning 'deep valley') is a former village immediately northwest of the city centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is bounded by Belford Road to the south and west, Belgrave Crescent Gardens to the north and below the ...

(again designed by Mitchell), followed by the further developments of Hawthorn Buildings and Dean Path Buildings in the same area in 1895 (designed by James Bow Dunn and Findlay's son James Leslie Findlay). Findlay avoided political office and refused the offer of a baronetcy in 1896. The freedom of Edinburgh was given him in 1896. He died at

Aberlour Aberlour () is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin, Moray, Elgin on the road to Grantown-on-Spey, Grantown. The Lour Burn (landform), burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, bu ...

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

, in 1898. Scottish National Portrait Gallery - John Ritchie Findlay memorial 01

Findlay was buried with his great-uncle in so-called "Lords Row" in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

. Other memorials erected to his memory include that in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (memorial by Rowand Anderson incorporating a portrait by Sir George Reid and a stained glass portrait medallion in the east staircase also designed by Rowand Anderson and executed by W Graham Boss), a series of memorial windows in St Giles High Kirk in Edinburgh, and a memorial window in

Parish Church. Shortly after Findlay's death,

Lord Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

said of him "Edinburgh can scarcely have had a citizen of more truly public spirit"Presidential Address delivered to the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, 25 November 1898

Memorials

*Stained glass window in

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

*Monument in main lobby of

Family

In 1863, Findlay married Susan Leslie, and left ten children. Findlay's elder son Sir John Ritchie Findlay, and grandson Sir Edmund Findlay followed him as proprietors of ''The Scotsman''. His younger son, James Leslie Findlay became an architect in the successful architectural practice of

Dunn & Findlay Dunn & Findlay were a firm of Scottish architects operating in the late 19th century and responsible for a number of important commercial buildings including ''The Scotsman'' buildings which form part of the Edinburgh Old Town skyline. Each w ...

, among whose projects were distinctive new offices and printing works for ''The Scotsman'' on Edinburgh's North Bridge, built between 1899 and 1902. Findlay's daughter, Dora Louise Findlay, married Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Backhouse in 1907.

Publications (partial)

*''Personal Recollections of Thomas De Quincey'' Edinburgh, Adam and Charles Black, 1886 *''A History of Hatton House'' Edinburgh, 1875 *''Notes on Hatton House, Mid-Lothian'', Proc Soc Antiq Scot, vol.11, 1876 *''De Quincey, Thomas'', Encyclopædia Britannica, (11th edition), 1911.

References

Attribution: * *

Sources

*Smailes, Helen (1985) ''A Portrait Gallery For Scotland'' Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh *''The Centenary of The Scotsman 1817-1917'' J Ritchie & Co, Edinburgh, 1917

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Findlay, John Ritchie 1824 births 1898 deaths Scottish journalists Scottish newspaper editors The Scotsman people Burials at the Dean Cemetery 19th-century Scottish newspaper publishers (people) People from Arbroath Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish antiquarians Scottish educational theorists British charity and campaign group workers People from West Lothian 19th-century Scottish journalists Scottish male journalists

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

19th-century Scottish male writers 19th-century Scottish writers 19th-century Scottish philanthropists