36 Facts About Jamsetji Tata

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who founded the Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate company.

Jamsetji Tata later ventured into the textile industry and established Empress Mill in Nagpur, afterwards purchasing a bankrupt oil mill in Mumbai and converting it into a cotton mill.

Jamsetji Tata was so influential in the world of industry that Jawaharlal Nehru referred to Tata as a One-Man Planning Commission.

Jamsetji Tata was a philanthropist, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare.

Jamsetji Tata's legacy includes the city of Jamshedpur, named in his honour, and a lasting influence on India's industrial and social landscape.

Jamsetji Tata married Hirabai Daboo, and their sons, Dorabji Tata and Ratanji Tata, continued his legacy within the Tata Group.

Jamsetji Tata's contributions were recognized posthumously, including being ranked first in the "Hurun Philanthropists of the Century" by total donations of $102.4 billion with the start of his key endowments back in 1892.

Jamshedji Jamsetji Tata was born to Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Jamsetji Tata on 3 March 1839 in Navsari, a city in southern Gujarat.

Jamsetji Tata was born in a respectable, but poor family of priests.

Jamsetji Tata broke his family's priestly tradition to become the first member of the family to start a business.

Unlike other Zoroastrians, Jamshedji Jamsetji Tata had a formal Western education because his parents saw that he was gifted with special abilities in mental arithmetic from a young age.

Jamsetji Tata joined his father, Nusserwanji, in Bombay at the age of 14 and enrolled at Elphinstone College completing his education as a "Green Scholar".

Jamsetji Tata was married to Hirabai Daboo while still a student.

Nusserwanji Jamsetji Tata wanted his son to be a part of this business, so he sent him to China to learn about the business there and the details about the opium trade.

However, when Jamsetji Tata travelled around China, he began to realize that the cotton industry was booming and there was a chance of making a great profit.

Jamsetji Tata worked in his father's company until he was 29.

Jamsetji Tata founded a trading company in 1868 with 21,000 capital.

Jamsetji Tata bought a bankrupt oil mill at Chinchpokli in 1869 and converted it to a cotton mill, which he renamed as Alexandra Mill.

Jamsetji Tata sold the mill 2 years later for a profit.

Later, in 1874, Jamshedji Jamsetji Tata floated the Central India Spinning, Weaving, and Manufacturing Company in Nagpur because it seemed like a suitable place for him to establish another business venture.

Jamsetji Tata had four goals in life: setting up an iron and steel company, a world-class learning institution, a unique hotel and a hydroelectric plant.

In 1885, Jamsetji Tata floated another company in Pondicherry for the sole purpose of distributing Indian textiles to the nearby French Colonies and not having to pay duties; however, this failed due to insufficient demand for the fabrics.

Jamsetji Tata named it Advance Mills because it was one of the most high-tech mills at the time.

On top of its technology, the company left a great effect on the city of Ahmedabad because Jamsetji Tata made an effort to integrate the mill within the city in order to provide economic growth to its community.

Jamshedji Jamsetji Tata continued to be an important figure in the industrial world even in his later stages of life.

The Swadeshi Movement did not start until 1905; however, Jamsetji Tata represented these same principles throughout the time he was alive.

Fully impressed by its principles, Jamsetji Tata named his new cotton mill built in Bombay the "Swadeshi Mill".

Jamsetji Tata wanted to produce cloth of quality comparable with that of Manchester cloth in an attempt to reduce the number of imports coming from abroad.

Jamsetji Tata had a vision for India to be the primary manufacturer of all kinds of cloth and eventually become an exporter.

Jamsetji Tata wanted India to be the sole maker of the fine cloths for which the primitive weavers of India were famous.

Jamsetji Tata started to experiment with various ways to improve the cultivation of cotton grown in different parts of India.

Jamsetji Tata believed that adopting the method of cultivation used by the Egyptian ryot, who were famous for their soft cotton would allow for the cotton industry of India to reach these goals.

Jamsetji Tata was the first to introduce the ring spindle into his mills, which soon replaced the throstle that was once used by manufacturers.

Jamsetji Tata was named the greatest philanthrope of the 20th century by EdelGive Foundation and Hurun Research India.

Jamsetji Tata topped the list of the world's top philanthropists of the 20th century with an estimated donation of $102 billion adjusted for inflation.

Jamsetji Tata died in Bad Nauheim on 19 May 1904, and was buried in the Parsi burial ground in Brookwood Cemetery, Woking, England.