John Harper
John Harper (c1856-1928) of Harpers and Harper Motor Co.
c.1856 Born in Glasgow, elder son of John Harper, Senior
c.1878 Birth of daughter, Isabella[1]
c.1880 Birth of son, William[2]
1881 Ironfounder & Master Employing 50 Men & 30 Boys, lived in Old Machar, Aberdeen with his wife Elizabeth and 2 children[3]
1898 First car produced by Harper Motor Co.
1900 of Heath Park, nr. Aberdeen.
1900 Established Scottish Motor Co
1901 John Harper 45, mechanical engineer, lived in Maryculter, Kincardineshire, with Elizabeth Harper 44, Isabella Harper 23, Charles Harper 13, Norman Harper 8[4]
1905 Patent by John Harper junior and Thomas Mowat for "Improved Means for Controlling Motor Road Vehicles"
1928 Obituary[5]
THE death of Mr. John Harper, the chairman of Harpers Ltd. , of Aberdeen, is announced as having taken place at Bournemouth.
Mr. Harper was the elder son of the late Mr John Harper, of Seafield. Early in his career he became associated with the firm of Harper and Co., which eventually was registered as Harpers Ltd. and had works in two other places in Aberdeen before being finally settled at Craiginches. Under Mr. Harper's supervision, the activities of the firm were extended in many directions, and he himself came to be regarded as an expert in the matter of the transmission of power and the mechanical propulsion of vehicles on roads. He was, in fact, among the first in the North to take up motoring and was instrumental in the introduction of electric vehicles for private use.