[1] As a young man he had been in the Crimea at the fall of Sevastopol in 1855; he had subsequently been an advocate of good coastal defences and was the first to suggest to the government the use of merchant vessels for war purposes.

[2] His father handed over control of the family businesses to him in 1860, the year he married, and he became a key figure, first as a partner, then as chairman, in the reconstruction and subsequent flotation of Cunard in 1878.

Under Burns, Cunard was also quick to order a steel vessel, the first in their service being the SS Servia in 1881, which, apart from the Great Eastern, was the largest liner afloat at the time.

As an honorary lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve, Burns was involved in setting up a training ship scheme which was established on HMS Cumberland.

He was author of several literary works, including A Wild Night, Glimpses of Glasgow Low Life, and, in 1887, The Adaption of Merchant Ships for War Purposes.

[1] He inherited his father's Baronetcy in 1890 and was created Baron Inverclyde, of Castle Wemyss in the county Renfrew on 28 July 1897.