Alexander Macmillan was born to a crofter's family in Irvine, Ayreshire, Scotland, in 1818. Together with his brother, Daniel, Alexander moveds south to England and co-founded the Macmillan publishing house in 1843. When Daniel died in 1857, Alexander took over the business and built it into a global publishing empire, with offices in New York as well as across the empire, including Canadia, India, and South Africa. A trade publisher, Macmillan brought out a variety of publications, including magazines, educational material, and literature.