David Wilson (1808–1880) worked as a confectioner in
Calcutta and on 18 November 1840 he opened the
Auckland Hotel at 1-3 Old Court House Road in Calcutta. The hotel was also known as Wilson's Hotel and changed its name to the
Great Eastern Hotel. It became the most famous hotel in
India and is still functioning today as the Great Eastern Kolkata and is part of the Bharat Hotels Group.
David Wilson came from
Herefordshire and started a bakery at No. 1 Old Court House Street. The bakery was successful as it served the need of the Britishers from the
East India Company who missed their breads and muffins in India. He subsequently bought the No. 2 and then No. 3 in Old Court House Road in 1840 to convert it into a hotel, which he had named after
George Eden
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, (25 August 1784 – 1 January 1849) was an English Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served as Governor-General of India between 1836 and 1842 ...
, the first Earl of
Auckland.
Early & Personal Life
Wilson was born in
Brilley,
Herefordshire in 1808. He married Mary Mandy (née Rose) in Calcutta in 1838. One of their grandchildren was Lieut
Boyd Alexander
Lieutenant Boyd Alexander (16 January 1873 – 2 April 1910) was an English officer in the British Army, as well as an explorer and ornithologist.
Early life
Boyd was the oldest son (with a twin brother) of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander. ...
the famous African explorer. David's sister Anne was in Calcutta and married one of David's friends, also a confectioner, Frederick William Browne in 1840 in Calcutta. Frederick died on 5 October 1864 on board the steamer Persia when it was lost at Sandheads in the great
cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
of 1864.
David moved back to England in the 1860s but continued to manage the hotel. Over the ensuing years the hotel moved from strength to strength. In 1863 it became the first hotel in India to be fully electrified. Over the years famous guests have included
Samuel Clemens (
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
), Nikita Khruskhev and
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
.
When David died in 1880 his net worth was over £60,000.
References
* Thacker's Bengal Directories 1864-1884
* David Wilson - Last Will and Testament - Principal Probate Registry Office High Holborn London
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20071011104747/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2217/stories/20050826001608400.htm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070929055657/http://www.thegrandhotels.net/NewGrandGroup.aspx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, David
1808 births
1880 deaths
Indian hoteliers
Confectioners
Businesspeople from Kolkata