Hugh Macmillan
Hugh Macmillan (1856-1910)
1910 Obituary [1]
HUGH MACMILLAN was born at Fort William, Inverness-shire, on 11th November 1856.
He was educated at the Grammar School, Fort William, and at Anderson's College, Glasgow. He served an apprenticeship with Messrs. Smith Brothers, Engineers, Glasgow, from 1871 to 1876.
On its completion he went as draughtsman with Messrs. Glen and Ross, of Glasgow, with whom he stayed two years, and then entered the service of the Steel Co. of Scotland.
In 1882 he transferred his services to Messrs. Manlove and Co., of Nottingham.
In 1884 he was engaged upon the design of the special machinery at the Forth Bridge Works, and afterwards upon the principal details of the steel superstructure of the bridge itself.
From 1886 to 1888 he was at work upon his own account.
In the latter year he became engineer of a sugar estate in Tucuman, South America. Suffering severely from malaria, he returned to England in 1891, and was engaged for three years at the works of Messrs. Samuel Fisher and Co., Nile Foundry, Birmingham, principally upon the design and construction of machinery and evaporating apparatus for sugar plantations in Java.
For the next two years he returned to Messrs. Manlove, Alliott and Co., and then in 1896 he was appointed engineer to the Monarch Gold Mining Co., of Bechuanaland. After being three years in this position, he returned to England and became engineer to the Aluminium Works, Oldbury.
In 1900 he accepted an offer from the Forge et Fonderies de Maurice to go to Mauritius. Eight years later he was appointed their manager; this position he held at the time of his death, which took place on 27th March 1910, at the age of fifty-three. In mechanical design he excelled, and his wide experience in the sugar industry, both in the construction and application of the machinery used, was exceptional.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1906.