Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet (1793–1872), was a linen manufacturer in Dundee, Scotland, and a baronet. He also performed a considerable amount of philanthropic work, benefiting his home city of Dundee and more widely Scottish education.

Abertay University, formerly the University of Abertay Dundee, is a public university in the city of Dundee, Scotland. In 1872, Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet of Kilmaron, left a bequest for the establishment of a mechanics' institute in Dundee and the Dundee Institute of Technology was formed in 1888. As early as 1902 it was recognised by the Scottish Education Department as an educational hub, and was one of the first to be designated a central institution, akin to an "industrial university". Abertay gained university status in 1994.