Alexander Allan

Who was Alexander Allan?

Captain Alexander Allan, was the Scottish sea captain and businessman who founded the Allan Shipping Line in 1819. Rising from shoemaker to shipping magnate in little more than thirty years, Allan retired in 1839 having made a fortune and created a transatlantic dynasty. He is recognised as one of the major contributors to Scotland's commercial interests in the early 19th century, and to the establishment of the Firth of Clyde as an international centre of shipping. During the Napoleonic Wars his brig, Jean - so named for his wife - held the record for the fastest crossing between the Firth of Clyde and Quebec City. Under his five sons, the Allan Line became the world's largest privately owned shipping empire.