John Ramsay

Who was John Ramsay?

John Ramsay was a Scottish distiller, merchant and Liberal Party politician.

Ramsay was the son of Robert Ramsay of Stirling and his wife Elizabeth Stirling. He was educated at Glasgow University and became a merchant in Glasgow. He was granted a lease in 1836 on the struggling Port Ellen whisky distillery on the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides. He enlarged and improved the pier at Port Ellen in 1881 and became one of the pioneers of the export trade in Scotch whisky to the United States. He also inaugurated the first bi-weekly cargo and passenger service by steamship between Islay and Glasglow. He helped to improve the island's infrastructure and built Kildalton Castle, a rambling Scottish baronial country house in Port Ellen.

He was a Deputy Lieutenant and a J.P. for Argyllshire and a J.P. for Lanarkshire and showed a major interest in education. In 1864 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Education in Scotland, being also an unpaid member of Board of Education for Scotland. He was a Fellow or member of several learned societies.