James Dick
- By Vikara
- Published 19/05/2009
- Famous Scots
A Scottish PhilanthrophistJames Dick (1823-1902) was born in Soulis Street in Kilmarnock. His father was a distiller. When his father died, the Dick family were poor and moved to Glasgow where his mother opened a small shop. Thanks to Robert Dick his brother, James was able to manufacture shoes using gutta-perch, a form of rubber. At its peak, his Greenhead factory turned out 30,000 pairs a week.
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The company moved into balta belting, also made from rubber. This was used in diamond and gold mines in which James invested, and when a mine in Australia struck paydirt he became, briefly, the richest man in Scotland.
In his later years James donated a hospital wing to the Glasgow Royal, bought and donated the Cathkin Braes to the citizens of Glasgow, and most importantly, paid for the Dick Institute (right), a beautiful sandstone library and cultural insitution in his native Kilmarnock. This was dedicated to Robert Dick. He also bequeathed the company to his employees upon his death, making him the most generous and philanthropic Scottish millionaire to have stayed in his native country.
