John Barr
John Barr (1855-1915) of Glenfield and Kennedy
1915 Obituary [1]
JOHN BARR was born at Kilmarnock on 1st April 1855.
Entering the office of Messrs. Glenfield and Kennedy, Kilmarnock, as a youth, he rose to be secretary of the company, and latterly filled the position of managing director. His mind had a distinct bent towards mechanical engineering, and, although be did not undergo a practical training, he spent a considerable part of his time about the works, gathering much knowledge of engineering generally. He saw the development of the Glenfield Works from a comparatively small undertaking to one of the most important engineering concerns in the country.
Mr. Barr travelled extensively in the interests of the company, having visited the United States and Canada, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, and much of its success was due to his energy and enterprise.
In 1905 he contributed a Paper to this Institution on "Waterworks Pumping Engines in the United States and Canada."
He had been in poor health for several months, and had sustained a severe blow by the death of his eldest son, Mr. James Barr, who, with his wife, was lost in the sinking of the "Lusitania" by a German submarine.
His death took place at his residence in Kilmarnock on 12th August 1915, at the age of sixty.
He was elected an Associate of this Institution in 1889; he was also a Member of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland.