Ninian MacWhannell (15 October 1860 – 23 December 1939) was a Scottish architect, author, and

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. Born in

Hutchesontown Hutchesontown is an inner-city area in Glasgow, Scotland. Mostly residential, it is situated directly south of the River Clyde and forms part of the wider historic Gorbals district, which is covered by the Southside Central (ward), Southside Ce ...

, MacWhannell attended Glasgow High School and

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

before becoming an architect. He played football for Queen's Park, making five appearances for them, including appearing in the 1885 FA Cup Final. He also wrote books about the Doric language and

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. He served as a councillor and magistrate. MacWhannell was a prominent

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

and rationalist, serving as the President of the Glasgow branch of the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association was a charity in the United Kingdom which published '' New Humanist'' magazine between 1885 and 2025. Since 2025, the Rationalist Press has been the publishing imprint of Humanists UK. The original Rationalist Press ...

from its formation. On his death, he had a secular funeral, at the Western Crematorium, led by J. McCormick, Vice President of the Glasgow R.P.A.

References

1860 births 1939 deaths Scottish men's footballers Scottish architects Queen's Park F.C. players Men's association football forwards Footballers from Glasgow Scottish writers People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Councillors in Glasgow People from Gorbals {{Scotland-footy-forward-1860s-stub Scottish humanists 19th-century Scottish sportsmen