Donald Currie

Sir Donald Currie GCMG
Donald Currie (Walter William Ouless, 1907)
Born	(1825-09-17)17 September 1825 Greenock
Died	13 April 1909(1909-04-13) (aged 83) London
Nationality	Scottish
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Occupation	steamship owner, politician, philanthropist
Known for	Union-Castle Line

Sir Donald Currie GCMG (17 September 1825 – 13 April 1909) was a Scottish shipowner, politician and philanthropist.

He was born at Greenock, Renfrewshire, on 17 September 1825, the third son of ten children of James Currie (1797–1851) and Elizabeth (1798–1839), daughter of Donald Martin, all of Greenock. His parents moved to Belfast in 1826, and Currie was sent at seven to the Belfast Academy, and subsequently to the Royal Belfast Academical Institution; at both schools he distinguished himself. As a boy he interested himself in the sea and shipping, and at fourteen entered the shipping office of a relative in Greenock. After four years there, he joined in 1844 the Cunard Steamship Company, Liverpool, owners of the only regular line of steamers sailing between Europe and America, which numbered no more than three the Caledonia, the Arcadia, and the Britannia, all of small tonnage. Currie became head of the company's cargo department. In 1849, in order to take advantage of the abolition of the navigation laws, the company sent him to establish branch houses at Le Havre and Paris, and in a short time they had a steamer running between Havre and America via Liverpool. He also established branch offices at Bremen and Antwerp, returning to Liverpool in 1854.

In 1862, determining to start for himself, he established the 'Castle' shipping company, which consisted at first of sailing ships plying between Liverpool and Calcutta, owned by a circle of personal friends. Currie first introduced the plan of despatching sailing ships on fixed dates. In 1865, he made London the port of departure of his vessels and took up his residence there.

The line grew steadily in strength and importance, and he resolved on a line of steamers from England to Cape Town, the first of which, the Iceland, a vessel of 946 tons, started on her outward trip on 23 January 1872. At the time the Union Steamship Company, founded in 1853, carried on the principal trade between England and South Africa and had the contract for the mail service.