John Boyd Orr, Baron Boyd Orr of Brechin Mearns, 1880-1971

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Abstract
John Boyd Orr was born on 23 September 1880 at Kilmaurs, Ayrshire. His father, Robert Clark Orr, was a quarry owner in a small way of business whose interests ranged widely. ‘A remarkable man of great ability’, he had not only deep religious convictions as an earnest, practising member of a sect of the Free Church of Scotland and in many of his views a Fundamentalist, but was also widely read in political, sociological and metaphysical, in addition to religious issues. John was born into a home where there was no shortage of books and spent his boyhood in an environment of active thinking and expression, particularly when, in the long winter evenings, these issues were discussed at home between his father, his elder brothers and various visiting friends of like mind. As John grew older he took a serious part in these discussions and also in outside activities such as church choir practice, meetings of the local Mutual Improvement Society or the Literary Association, meetings usually followed by debates. Once or twice in the winter months there would be a visit from a travelling concert party, whose concerts he was allowed to attend, but ‘promiscuous dancing’ was not permitted. (John once stated that he had never heard dance music until he was 27 years of age). But his home atmosphere was happy and the children were allowed much freedom; neither parent inflicted physical punishment. There was family worship each evening. He was the middle child in a family of seven; a sister and two brothers were older and two brothers and a sister younger. Mutual discipline in such a large family could hardly fail to exist.

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