Sir William Burrell (July 9 1861 - March 29 1958) was a Glaswegian shipping merchant and philanthropist. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1861. He was the third of nine children in a family, which ran a shipping business.

Burrell joined this business in 1875, at the age of 14, and took over the firm when his father died. Burrell and his brothers were successful in business by ordering ships during economic downturns, and using these modern vessels to full capacity when the economy recovered. Using this method the family managed to become rich. This allowed Burrell to spend his time collecting antiques, and he managed this by his eye for a bargain.

In 1902 he married Constance Mitchell, the daughter of another ship owner. Burrell was knighted in 1927 for services to art and for his public work.

In 1944 Burrell donated his collection to the city of Glasgow, with £250,000 to house it. The conditions of this include the request that the collection should be in a rural setting. This posed a problem until the council acquired Pollok Park . The Burrell Collection was finally opened in 1983.

William Burrell passed away at Hutton Castle on 29 March 1958, at the age of 96.

External links

• General Register Office for Scotland record on William Burrell
• Profile of William Burrell
• In-depth history of William Burrell