Alexander MacMillan (publisher)

{{Short description|Scottish cofounder of Macmillan Publishers}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}

Image:Alexander Macmillan 1818 1896.png

Alexander MacMillan ({{langx|gd|Alasdair MacMhaolain}}; 3 October 1818 – 25 January 1896), born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, was a cofounder, in 1843, with his brother Daniel, of Macmillan Publishers in Covent Garden, London.{{cite web |title=Bedford Street and Chandos Place Area: Bedford Street Pages 253-263 Survey of London: Volume 36, Covent Garden. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol36/pp253-263 |website=British History Online |publisher=LCC 1970 |access-date=7 April 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407151159/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol36/pp253-263 |url-status=live }} His family were crofters from the Isle of Arran.[http://international.macmillan.com/history1.asp History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080501213424/http://international.macmillan.com/history1.asp |date=1 May 2008 }}{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888948,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128153004/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,888948,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=28 November 2007 | magazine=Time | title=PUBLISHING: Crofter's Crop | date=22 January 1951 | accessdate=23 April 2010}}

Alexander was the partner who developed the literary reputation of the company, while Daniel took charge of the business and commercial side. Originally called Macmillan & Co., the firm started as a successful bookshop in Cambridge. The brothers soon started publishing books as well as selling them. After Daniel's death in 1857, Alexander continued to run the firm. He expanded the company into a worldwide organization and also started publishing magazines, including the prestigious scientific journal Nature. Macmillan assigned George Edward Brett to create the New York office in August 1869 and hired American firm Messrs. Pott & Amery to assist in the marketing and distribution of Macmillan's books.{{cite book |title= Macmillan A Publishing Tradition |first= Elizabeth |last= James |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |year= 2002 |isbn= 0-333-73517-X |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/macmillanpublish0000unse }}

Alexander's brother Daniel was the grandfather of Harold Macmillan, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.