IN January 1961 Sir Hector Hetherington, principal of Glasgow University, formally opened the Stevenson Physical Education Building, and described the late Sir Daniel Stevenson, after whom it was named, as “one of the pioneers of municipal socialism” and one of the university’s greatest benefactors. Almost half of the £260,000 cost of the building had come from Sir Daniel’s trustees.
As a young man he had established a coal-importing business. He later became an influential member of Glasgow Corporation, and served as Lord Provost from 1911 until 1914. He was a considerable philanthropist, and his lifetime’s benefactions totalled some £400,000. Though he was not a graduate of the university, he donated substantial sums to it, and several chairs were created in his name. He was elected as Chancellor in 1934, when he was 83. He died in 1944, in his 93rd year, at his home in Cleveden Road.
Upon his death, Sir Hector praised Sir Daniel’s “quite remarkable record as a municipal statesman and administrator” and his philanthropic gestures to so many causes and institutions. “He was, I suppose, a rich man, but he spent little on himself,” he added.
Sir Daniel’s Glasgow Herald obituary noted his huge role in Glasgow public life and that he had travelled widely, eager to foster international friendship and peace. He had been received by, among others, Hitler, and Mussolini, and Hindenburg.
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