Leonard Gow

When Leonard Gow died on 25 November 1910, the obituary in the Glasgow Herald described his death as 'the loss of a prominent citizen' and of a 'leading commerical figure and philanthopist' in Glasgow. 1

Gow was born in Glasgow on 25 December 1824, and was brought up by a farming uncle near Glamis, Angus. He attended the University of St Andrews from 1841 with the intention of entering the church. Following graduation with distinction, he was an assistant teacher of theology at King's College, Aberdeen for two years. Health problems led to a change of career and he joined the shipping offices of his elder brother, Allan Gow & Co., in Glasgow. After his brother's sudden death in 1859, Leonard Gow became head of the company. When the Suez Canal opened the company began operating steamships, establishing offices in London in 1874 and trade routes to China and Japan. 2

Leonard Gow was an active figure in the business world, serving at various times as a director of the Burmah Oil Company, Nobel's Explosives Company, Cassel Gold Extracting Company, Scottish Imperial Insurance Company and of the Merchants' House, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, the Clyde Trust and the Clyde Lighthouse Trust. He was also chairman of the Kirkintilloch School Board for its first nine years, from 1873, a director of the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and for 21 years a governer of Glasgow School of Art. 3

Gow was heavily involved in the works of philanthropic institutions in Glasgow in the fields of health and social welfare. He was a director of the Western Infirmary, the Charity Organisation Society and Juvenile Delinquncy Board among many others and was a founder of the Canal Boatmen's Institute and its president until his death. Gow was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by the University of St Andrews in 1905. 4