William Duncan Baxter

William Duncan Baxter (1868 - 1960) was a Cape Town businessman, politician and financier.

Biography

Born in Dundee, Scotland. Baxter came to Cape Town at age 18.

He was was the Mayor of Cape Town from 1907 to 1908. He was a City Councillor for 11 years. His interests extended to education: he was a generous supporter of the University of Cape Town during his lifetime. He was chairman of the university finance committee and was chairman of the UCT Council, from 1945-1960. Baxter was committed to the university’s growth, joining the UCT community at the time of the Groote Schuur campus construction in 1921. In total, he worked with the university for 33 years on both the Building and Finance committees.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Baxter was a patron of the South African College of Music, particularly during its early years.

He left the University of Cape Town money in his will to build a proper theatre for Cape Town. His will stipulated "For all the people of Cape Town …utilise this bequest for the purpose of developing and cultivating the arts. This could, I am satisfied, best be done by establishing a theatre in Cape Town in which plays, operas, ballets, concerts and other forms of entertainment can be given." This was finally achieved when the Baxter Theatre was opened in Rondebosch, Cape Town in October 1977. In recognition of his gift, the complex was named after him, and is in part maintained with the aid of an annual grant from the Baxter Endowment Fund - the remainder of William Duncan Baxter's bequest.