MAXWELL, John Hall (eld. son of William Maxwell of Dargavel, Renfrewshire, d. 1847). b. Queen st. Glasgow, Feb. 1812; called to Scottish bar 1835, retired 1845; secretary to Highland and agricultural society of Scotland 1846, resigned 9 May 1866; greatly improved the annual shows; paid great attention to collection of agricultural statistics; effected many improvements on his estate at Dargavel; C.B. 5 Feb. 1856; presented with one thousand guineas and a service of plate 17 Jany. 1866. d. Torr hall near Paisley 25 Aug. 1866, portrait by Gourlay Steel in council chamber of Highland and agricultural soc. Saddle and Sirloin. By The Druid, Part North (1870) 3–6.
MAXWELL, Sir Peter Benson (brother of Henry Hamilton Maxwell 1824–92). b. Cheltenham, Jany. 1817; ed. in Paris and at Trin. coll. Dublin, B.A. 1839; barrister M.T. 19 Nov. 1841; a comr. to inquire into state of hospitals at Scutari 1854; recorder of Penang, Straits of Malacca, Feb. 1856 to 1866; recorder of Singapore 27 July 1866 to 1871; chief justice of Straits Settlements 1867–71; employed in reorganizing judicial tribunals of Egypt 1883–4; knighted at Buckingham palace 30 Jany. 1856; author of Whom shall we hang? The Sebastopol enquiry 1855; An introduction to the duties of police magistrate in the Prince of Wales island, Singapore and Malacca 1866; On the interpretation of statutes 1875, 2 ed. 1883; Our Malay conquests 1878; author with J. J. Lowndes and C. E. Pollock of Reports of cases in the queen’s bench practice court 1850–1851, 2 vols. 1851–2; author with J. J. Lowndes of Bail court cases 1852–1854, vol. 1 parts 1–5, 1852–4. d. Grasse, Alpes Maritimes 14 Jany. 1893.
MAXWELL, William (son of Alexander Maxwell of 21 Bell yard, Fleet st. London, law publisher, who d. 1850). b. 1817 or 1818; law publisher at 21 Bell yard 1850 to death; published Davidson’s Precedents and forms in conveyancing, and other important legal works. d. Temple Sheen, Mortlake 28 May 1882.
MAXWELL, William John Leigh. b. Dublin 24 May 1838; entered office of sir John Macneill at Dundalk 1861; resident engineer Portadown Junction railway works; made surveys of Euphrates valley railway 1870; engineer of Beyrout water works 1871; A.I.C.E. 1877; author of Letters of an engineer while on service in Syria in connection with the proposed Euphrates Valley railway and the Beyrout water works 1880, with portrait. d. on voyage from Naples to England 22 Aug. 1880. bur. at sea.
MAXWELL, William Robert (1 son of Hamilton Maxwell of Shrub hill house, Mid Lothian). 2 lieut. R. Marines 11 July 1832; served in China 1841; adjutant at Woolwich 1842–8; lieut.-col. R.M. 11 Aug. 1859, col. commandant 13 June 1865; general 1 Oct. 1877; placed on retired list 13 April 1879; lived at Dover for many years. d. Brighton 21 March 1892.
MAY, Alice. b. 1847; appeared as Marie in the Daughter of the regiment, at Melbourne in 1872; with her own operatic company toured in Australia, New Zealand and India; played in the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein at Liverpool; acted at the Gaiety and Opera Comique theatres, London; played Jeanne in Lacome and Reece’s comic opera Jeanne Jeannette and Jeanneton at Alhambra 28 March 1881; m. Louis Raymond. d. 16 Aug. 1887. Illust. sporting and dramatic news 20 Oct. 1877 pp. 97, 107, portrait.
MAY, Charles (son of a Friend). b. Alton, Hants. 1800; apprenticed to Mr. Sims of Stockport, chemist; a chemist and millwright at Ampthill, Beds.; partner with Messrs. Ransome of Ipswich, agricultural implement makers 1836; built an observatory for his own use at Ipswich; F.R.A.S.; M.I.C.E. 1846, member of council 1848–55; F.R.S. 1 June 1854; removed to London 1851; experimented on the strength of iron; invented compressed tree-nails for fixing chairs to sleepers; introduced the process of chilling for pivots of large instruments. d. 3 Great George st. Westminster 10 Aug. 1860. Proceedings of royal society, xi 10 (1860); Minutes of proc. of Instit. of C.E. xx 148 (1861).
MAY, Edward Collett. b. Greenwich 29 Oct. 1806; studied under Adams, Potter and Crivelli; professor of vocal music at Queen’s college, London; organist at Greenwich hospital 1837–69; famed as an organist and teacher; author of Progressive vocal exercises for daily practice 1853. d. about 16 Jany. 1887. Life of John Hullah (1886).
Note.—His daughter Florence May, pianist, is the composer of Six songs for the pianoforte 1880 and other music.
MAY, Edward Harrison (son of rev. Edward Harrison May). b. England 1824; taken to U.S. of America when young; studied art under Daniel Huntington and under Couture in Paris 1851; capt. in the American ambulance during Franco-Prussian war, and a surgeon 1870–1; an associate of the National academy 1876; painted The dying brigand, now in Philadelphia academy of fine arts; By the rivers of Babylon, now in the Century club, New York; and Mary Magdalen at the sepulchre, now in the Metropolitan museum, New York. d. Paris 17 May 1887. Appleton’s American Biog. iv 272 (1888).