Peter MacLeod Baxter (1865-1927) of McKie and Baxter
1922 O.B.E., M.I. Mech.E., M.I.N.A., M.Inst.Met., Partner, McKie and Baxter, Copland Works, Govan, Glasgow.
1927 Obituary [1]
PETER MACLEOD BAXTER, O.B.E., was for many years prominently associated with marine engineering on the Clyde as a founder of the firm of Messrs. McKie and Baxter, manufacturers of marine propelling engines and auxiliaries for ships.
He was educated at Glasgow and apprenticed with the marine engineering firms of Messrs. David Rowan and Company and Messrs. Ross and Duncan from 1881 to 1887. For two years he was private assistant to Mr. Duncan, and in 1889, at the early age of 21, became manager of the works of Messrs. Cox and Company of Falmouth.
After spending a time in Spain as a mechanical engineer, he returned to Glasgow, and in conjunction with the late Mr. J. A. McKie founded the firm with which he was connected for over thirty years.
Mr. Baxter became a Member of the Institution in 1892, and he was also a Member of the Institution of Naval Architects.
He retired from business in February 1927, and his death occurred on 14th June 1927.
1927 Obituary[2]
"THE LATE MR. P. MACLEOD BAXTER.
We regret to note the death, on June 15 last, at his home, 7, Bute Mansions, Glasgow, of Mr. Peter MacLeod Baxter, formerly head of the firm of Messrs. McKie and Baxter, marine engineers, Govan.
Born in 1865 at Helensburgh, Dumbarton, he was educated at Allan Glen’s School, Glasgow, and afterwards served an apprenticeship of five years with Messrs. Ross and Duncan, Govan, and with Messrs. David Rowan and Company, Glasgow. In 1886, when only twenty-one years of age, he was appointed manager of the shipbuilding and engineering works at Falmouth, of Messrs. Cox and Company, a position he continued to occupy for three years. Subsequently he proceeded to Spain to take up the appointment of chief mines mechanical engineer to the Rio Tinto Mining Company, at Huelva. Soon after his return to this country, some three years later, Mr. Baxter co-operated with the late Mr. J. A. McKie in the organisation of the firm of Messrs. McKie and Baxter.
During the years which followed, he supervised the construction of numerous sets of machinery for cargo steamers and for large numbers of small craft built both at home and abroad. When the firm of Messrs. McKie and Baxter became a limited liability company in February of this year, Mr. Baxter retired after having held the position of managing engineer of the concern for some thirty years. He became a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1892, and of the Institution of Naval Architects in 1919."