Sir John Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet

Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet KT (6 June 1866 - 30 May 1956) was a Scottish Tory politician and philanthropist.

The eldest son of Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet and Anna, second daughter of the 10th Earl of Leven and Melville, he was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He succeeded his father to the baronetcy in 1878.

In 1901 he married Ann Christian, daughter of Rt Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Bt. The couple had one daughter, Anne.

He was Conservative Member of Parliament for the College Division of Glasgow from 1895-1906, and later served as Chairman of the Forestry Commission from 1929-1932. He was also Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland, and a Trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland Chairman of Ancient Monuments Board (Scotland) . He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Company of Archers and an active Freemason.

He was a founder member of the National Trust for Scotland (1931), becoming one of its first Vice-Presidents and President from 1943 until his death. He realised the importance of green spaces within a city. In this context, he was determined to protect the Pollok Estate and give the people of Glasgow access to it, which he undertook in 1911.

Stirling Maxwell was also involved in trying to resolve the protracted problem of finding a home for the art treasures presented to Glasgow in 1944 by Sir William Burrell. After his death, his daughter gave Pollok House, a substantial proportion of the estate and her father's art collection to the Glasgow Corporation. This gift of land eventually allowed the Glasgow city fathers to erect a building to hold the Burrell Collection.

In 1929 he was appointed a Knight of the Thistle. He held the honorary degree of LLD from the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and Edinburgh University. Hon. RSA; Hon. RIBA; Hon. RWS; Hon. RSW and a DL.

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). "Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage" (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
* [http://www.angeltowns.com/town/peerage/ Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page]