William Jardine was a Scottish opium trader and physician who co-founded the Hong Kong–based conglomerate Jardine,Matheson &Co. Educated in medicine at the University of Edinburgh,in 1802 Jardine obtained a diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. The next year,he became a surgeon's mate aboard the Brunswick belonging to the East India Company,and set sail for India. In May 1817,he abandoned medicine for trade.
The Keswick family are a business dynasty of Scottish origin associated with the Far East region since 1855 and in particular the conglomerate Jardine Matheson.
Jardine,Matheson &Co.,later Jardine,Matheson &Co.,Ltd.,forerunner of today's Jardine Matheson Holdings,was a Far Eastern company founded in 1832 by Scotsmen William Jardine and James Matheson as senior partners. Trafficking opium in Asia,while also trading cotton,tea,silk and a variety of other goods,from its early beginnings in Canton,in 1844 the firm established its head office in the new British colony of Hong Kong then proceeded to expand all along the China Coast.
Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong–based,Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange and Bermuda Stock Exchange. The majority of its business interests are in Asia,and its subsidiaries include Jardine Pacific,Jardine Motors,Hongkong Land,Jardine Strategic Holdings,DFI Retail Group,Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group,Jardine Cycle &Carriage and Astra International. It set up the Jardine Scholarship in 1982 and Mindset,a mental health-focused charity,in 2002.
David Fortune "Taffy" Landale,JP,was a British-Hong Kong entrepreneur and politician who was chairman and managing director of Jardine Matheson &Co. from 1945 to 1951,during which he was appointed by the Hong Kong government as an unofficial member of the Executive Council from 1946 to 1951,as well as the senior unofficial member of the Legislative Council from 1946 to 1950. Later in his life he settled in the United Kingdom,where he was chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland between 1955 and 1965.
John Bell-Irving,JP was a Scottish businessman in Hong Kong. He was a partner of the Jardine Matheson &Co.,one of the leading trading firm in the Far East.
Henry Keswick was a British Conservative politician and businessman and member of the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Sir Vandeleur Molyneux Grayburn was the chief manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation from 1930 to 1943. He was the most powerful financier in the Far East in the 1930s,and took an important role in establishing Hong Kong dollar as the official currency of the colony. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II,Grayburn was arrested for providing monetary and logistics aid to military prisoners and bank employees held hostage,imprisoned,and later died at Stanley Prison.
Charles Montague Ede,JP was a Hong Kong businessman and unofficial member of the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Benjamin David Fleming Beith (1884–1960) was a British businessman in China and member of the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Charles Gordon Stewart Mackie was a Scottish businessman in Hong Kong and member of the Legislative Council and Executive Council of Hong Kong.
Stanley Hudson Dodwell (1878–1960),CBE was a British businessperson and politician who was active in Hong Kong. He served as the chairman of Dodwell &Co. and member of the Legislative Council and the Executive Council of Hong Kong.
William Henry Bell was the head of the Asiatic Petroleum Company and member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Andrew Lusk Shields was a Scottish businessman and politician in Hong Kong. He died as a prisoner of war following the surrender of Hong Kong in 1941.
Francis Bulkeley Johnson (1828–1887) was member of the Jardine,Matheson &Co. and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Arthur William Hughes was an Australian businessman,member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the commander of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps.
Herbert Smith was a British businessman in Hong Kong. He was a partner of the Jardine,Matheson &Co. and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
Sir David Kennedy Newbigging,OBE,DL is a British businessman and Hong Kong politician born in China. He was the Tai-pan of Jardine Matheson &Co,the leading British trading firm in East Asia and unofficial member of the Executive Council and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.
