Mary Ann Baxter

Mary Ann Baxter (1801-December 19, 1884) was a noted philanthropist in the Scottish city of Dundee.

Family

Mary Ann Baxter was the daughter of William Baxter, founder of the Baxter Brothers And Co. Ltd. textile business.

She outlived all of her siblings, her brothers Edward (general merchant), Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet, John, and William (who worked in their father's textile business), and her sister Eleanor.

Notable achievements

Mary Ann Baxter was the co-founder of University College, Dundee, the forerunner of the University of Dundee and also, with her brother, Sir David Baxter (1793-1872) of the Technical Institute of Dundee which opened in 1888 and led to the founding of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.^[1] The Deed of endowment and trust in the University archives, signed in 1881 when Mary Ann Baxter would have been 80 years old, lists the donation of £120,000 for the creation of an institution of higher education in Dundee from Miss Mary Ann Baxter of Balgavies assisted by her relative, Dr John Boyd Baxter, Esq., LL.D., an alumnus of St Andrews and Procurator Fiscal of Forfarshire who contributed nearly £20,000.^[2] The deed stated that the college should promote "the education of persons of both sexes and the study of Science, Literature and the Fine Arts".^[3] Mary Ann Baxter's insistence on the education of women meant that the college's alumni include the social reformer Mary Lily Walker and Scotland's first female professor, Margaret Fairlie.^[4] As a philanthropist, together with her sister Eleanor and her brother Sir David, Mary Ann Baxter also founded Baxter Park in 1861, buying 36 acres of "pleasure ground" and commissioning designer Sir Joseph Paxton to design a park so that "the labouring population of Dundee might breathe freely".

Recognition

A blue plaque marking her place in the Dundee Women's Trail is sited on Perth Road.^[5]

References

University of Dundee
Governance	Chancellor: The Lord Patel Rector: Mark Beaumont Principal: Sir Peter Downes General Council University Court Senatus Academicus Students' Representative Council
History	Medical Schools Mills Observatory Telecommunications Research Establishment University of St Andrews
Academic	Centre for Dermatology and Genetic Medicine Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression Division of Signal Transduction Therapy Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design Medical School School of Architecture School of Law
Facilities	Botanic Garden Dundee Royal Infirmary (formerly) Ninewells Hospital Maryfield Hospital (formerly) Perth Royal Infirmary
Student life	Students' Association Shinty Club East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron Undergraduate Gown
People	Mary Ann Baxter (Co-founder) Academics Alumni Chancellors Rectors
Related topics	Caird Hall Canongate Books Cyclacel Dictionary of the Scots Language Dundee Cell Products Dundee University Press (until 2013) Dundee International Book Prize
Category  Commons

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