The Allan Shipping Line was established in 1819 by Captain Alexander Allan (1780-1854) of Saltcoats, Ayrshire. The company was involved in trade and transportation between Scotland and Montreal, which became the signature route for the Allan Line.

By the 1830s, the company had offices in Glasgow, Liverpool, and Montreal. All five of Captain Allan's sons were actively engaged in the business, with his second son, Sir Hugh Allan (1810-1882), leading the second generation. In 1854, Hugh launched the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company as part of the Allan Line. Two years later, he took control of the Royal Mail contract between Britain and North America, ousting Samuel Cunard. By the 1880s, the Allan Line had become the world's largest privately owned shipping concern. In 1891, the company acquired the State Line (founded in 1872) and was often referred to as the Allan & State Line. In 1897, Andrew Allan (1822-1901) consolidated the various branches of the Allan shipping empire under one company, Allan Line Steamship Company Ltd., of Glasgow. By then, the company had established offices in Boston and London.

In 1917, the company was purchased by Canadian Pacific Steamships under Sir Montagu Allan (1860-1951), representing the third generation of the Allan family. By the following year, the Allan name had disappeared from commercial shipping.

The Allan Memorial Institute, also known colloquially as "the Allan," is a former psychiatric hospital and research institute located at 1025 Pine Avenue West in Montreal, Canada.

In 1863, Sir Hugh Allan, the Scottish founder and president of the Allan Lines Shipping Company, commissioned Victor Roy and John Hopkins to construct a house that reflected his wealth and power. This Italianate, villa-style mansion was named Ravenscrag after a Scottish castle and was located at the top of McTavish Street with an imposing view over the entire city. After Sir Hugh Allan died in 1882, his son and daughter-in-law, Sir Montagu and Marguerite, respectively, inherited Ravenscrag. They enlarged the house and redecorated it in a more elegant and lavish style. After Sir Montagu's death, Lady Allan gave Ravenscrag to the Royal Victoria Hospital in 1940. It was renamed the Allan Memorial Institute in 1943. To serve the present needs of a psychiatric hospital and research institute, the interior of the building has been altered, and many additions have been made to the exterior. The Montreal experiments were conducted at the Allan Memorial Institute between 1957 and 1964 by psychiatrist Donald Ewen Cameron. The experiments aimed to treat schizophrenia using methods such as "psychic driving," drug-induced sleep, electroconvulsive therapy, sensory deprivation, and the drug Thorazine. These experiments were funded by the CIA as part of Project MKUltra. They were not made public until 1975, even though they lasted until 1973.

The Allan Memorial's emergency room and use as an active psychiatric hospital ceased in 2015 when a new, modern psychiatry department was opened at the Montreal General Hospital. The building currently houses outpatient psychiatric services for Montreal General Hospital, part of the McGill University Health Centre.

Sir Hugh Allan was born on September 29, 1810, in Saltcoats, Scotland.

He was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier, and capitalist. In 1819, his father Capt. Alexander Allan established the Allan Shipping Line, which became synonymous with transporting goods and passengers between Scotland and Montreal. Hugh received a parish education at Saltcoats before starting work in 1823 at the family's counting-house of Allan, Kerr & Co., of Greenock. In 1826, he moved to Montreal to work as a clerk for a grain merchant, William Kerr. By 1835, he was made a partner in the firm known as Millar, Edmonstone & Co. With his father's encouragement and capital, Hugh expanded the company's shipping operations, and J. & A. Allan (headed by his elder brother, James, in Glasgow) became closely involved with the building of the merchant fleet. By 1839 Hugh's younger brother, Andrew, had joined Edmonstone, Allan & Co. In 1851, Hugh was elected president of the Montreal Board of Trade. In 1854, he launched the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company as part of the Allan Line and took control of the Royal Mail contract between Britain and North America. By the 1880s, the Allan Line was the world's largest privately-owned shipping concern.

He also became a director of the Bank of Montreal, president of the Montreal Telegraph Company and he established coal mines in Nova Scotia and factories for textiles, shoes, paper, tobacco, and iron and steel in Central Canada.

In 1860, he built his home, Ravenscrag, at the Golden Square Mile in Montreal.

In 1844, he married Matilda Caroline Smith. He died on December 9, 1882, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is buried in Montreal, Quebec.

James Bryce Allan was born on June 13, 1861, in Montreal, Quebec.

His father Andrew Allan was a successful Scottish-born Canadian businessman and financier, co-owner of the shipping firm of Edmonstone, Allan & Co., and co-founder of the Merchant's Bank of Canada. James Bryce Allan was educated in England at Rugby School and Oxford University. He completed his legal education at Laval University, Quebec. He was a senior partner in the legal firm Campbell, Meredith & Allan in Montreal who represented the Allan family businesses. He became a K.C. (King's Counsel), and later retired to England.

He died unmarried in 1945 in England.

John Allan owned and operated sawmills, e.g., Bowes’ Mill, Ontario (1856-1868) and Kinnear's Mills, Quebec, in the late 1800s. He served as the mayor of the Saint-Jacques-de-Leeds Community, Quebec, from 1887 to 1890.

Kathleen Allan, a native of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, is a conductor, composer and soprano, rapidly becoming internationally respected for compelling performances and engaging compositions. Her compositions range from intimate songs to larger works for choir and instrumental ensembles. She has a keen interest in contributing to the folk music tradition, both in her compositions and by reviving ancient songs in new arrangements. She has received two Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Awards (2007 and 2008), and in 2006, her composition for the saxophone quartet won the CBC's contest for young composers. Kathleen is also active as a choral and solo vocalist, having sung the lead role in the North American tour of Stephen Hatfield's chamber opera, Ann and Seamus, in 2007. She is currently studying composition with Stephen Chatman and voice with Bruce Pullan at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Alphonse Allard was possibly born in 1845 or 1846 and possibly a relative of Emery Allard. He was a student of the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University in the 1860s. He matriculated in the 1864-65 season.

Probably active in Paris during the 1940s or 1950s.