Horticulturalist and gardener. Born in Barony parish in Glasgow, into a family of gardeners, he seems to have served an apprenticeship in the gardens of Rossdhu House at Luss. In the mid-1840s, he followed his elder brother to Singapore and took on managing a Nutmeg plantation there. He married Jane Newbold, the daughter of a retired Indian Army Officer in Singapore. In 1860, Niven was appointed Manager of the Singapore Gardens and spent the next 15 years developing them, designing the landscape in a classic English style.
In 1876, Niven became ill and returned to Scotland only to die, four days after arriving, in Hillhead (South Ayrshire). His brother who had also returned from Singapore died just a fortnight later, and the pair are buried next to each other in Low Coylton churchyard. Singapore Botanic Gardens is now a UNESCO World Heritage centre and are perhaps unique in retaining an area of primary tropical rainforest within its boundaries.