John Ritchie Findlay (21 October 1824 – 16 October 1898) was a Scottish newspaper owner and philanthropist. Life John Ritchie Findlay was born at Arbroath, Angus, son of Peter Findlay and was educated at Edinburgh University. In 1842, following the failure of his father's drapery business, he moved to Edinburgh and joined the publishing office of the newspaper The Scotsman, co-founded and later solely owned by his great-uncle John Ritchie, with whom he initially lived. After a period as a clerk, he moved to the editorial office. Findlay became a partner in the paper in 1868, and in 1870 inherited the greater part of the property from his great uncle. The large increase in the influence and circulation of the paper was in a great measure due to his activity and direction, and it brought him a fortune, which he spent during his lifetime in public benefaction. He presented to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, opened in Edinburgh in 1889, and costing over 70,000 pounds sterling. In thanks for this, and in acknowledgement for his efforts in achieving the admission of women to the University of Edinburgh Medical School, the Queen Mary Standing Committee commissioned a statue of Mary Queen of Scots for the Eastern facade of the building. He contributed largely to the collections of the National Gallery of Scotland. Findlay held numerous offices in antiquarian, educational and charitable societies, including: The Society of Antiquaries (Secretary) Association for the Medical Education of Women (President) Edinburgh Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor (Founder) United Industrial School Board of Manufactures (Trustee) Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh (Director) In 1885 Findlay commissioned a substantial new house designed by the architect Sydney Mitchell in Edinburgh's West End, at 3 Rothesay Terrace. The house manages to blend well with its surroundings despite being much larger than its neighbours and in a more flamboyant style. Findlay also undertook a number of practical philanthropic projects under his own direct supervision, the most significant of which were concerned with the provision of 'ideal' workers' housing. In 1889 he built the "Well Court" development in Edinburgh's Dean Village (again designed by Sydney Mitchell), followed by the further developments of Hawthorn Buildings and Dean Path Buildings in the same area in 1895 (designed by James Bow Dunn and Findlay's son James Leslie Findlay). Findlay avoided political office and