JOHN

See also:

• RITCHIE, CHARLES THOMSON RITCHIE, 1ST BARON (1838-1906)
• RITCHIE, DAVID GEORGE (1853-1903)

RITCHIE

See also:

• FINDLAY
• JOHN RITCHIE FINDLAY (1824—1898)
• FINDLAY, SIR GEORGE (1829—1893)

FINDLAY (1824—1898)  , Scottish newspaper owner and philanthropist, was born at Arbroath on the 21st of October 1824, and was educated at Edinburgh University . He entered first the publishing office and then the editorial department of the Scotsman, became a partner in the paper in 1868, and in 1870 inherited the greater part of the property from his great uncle, John Ritchie, the founder . 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 nation the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, opened in Edinburgh in 1889, and costing over £70,000; and he contributed largely to the collections of the Scottish National Gallery . He held numerous offices in antiquarian, educational and charitable societies, showing his keen interest in these matters, but he avoided political office and refused the offer of a baronetcy . The freedom of Edinburgh was given him in 1896 . He died at Aberlour, Banffshire, on the 16th of October 1898 .