Osborne Henry Mavor
(James Bridie)

1888 - 1951

Playwright and promoter of the arts. Born in Glasgow, the son of engineer Henry Mavor (1858 - 1915), he was educated at Glasgow Academy and the University of Glasgow, where he studied medicine. Mavor worked at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary before enlisting in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War I. His growing interest in the theatre led him to write plays including The Anatomist (1930), based on the Edinburgh surgeon Dr Robert Knox and the infamous 'resurrectionists' Burke and Hare. Other notable works include Mr Bolfry (1943), John Knox (1947) and The Queen's Comedy (1950). He gave up medicine and moved to Helensburgh in 1934, becoming a full-time playwright.

Mavor founded the Citizen's Theatre in Glasgow, supported the Edinburgh Festival and helped establish drama education in Scotland.

He died in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and lies buried in the Western Necropolis in Glasgow.

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