Sir David Yule, 1st Baronet (4 August 1858 – 3 July 1928) was a Scottish businessman based in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. The ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' judged him "arguably the most important businessman in India" and quoted his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' as "one of the wealthiest men, if not the wealthiest man, in the country".

Early life

David was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the son of David Yule and his wife Margaret. His father was a writer who also worked as a cashier at the Sasine Office, Register House. David was educated in Britain and went into the family business, which was trade with India, then the " jewel in the crown" of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Career

David joined Andrew Yule and Company, a conglomerate with diversified interests, which was founded by both his uncles,

Andrew Yule Andrew Yule (2 November 1834 – 18 July 1902) was a businessman who founded Andrew Yule and Co. Early life Andrew was born in Stonehaven- Fetteresso, Scotland, the third and youngest son of Robert Yule, a clothier, and his wife Elizabeth. He h ...

and

George Yule George Yule may refer to: * George Yule (businessman) (1829–1892), Scottish merchant and politician in India * George Yule (linguist) (born 1947), British linguist * George Udny Yule George Udny Yule FRS (18 February 1871 – 26 June 1951 ...

. His uncle George died childless in 1892. His uncle Andrew had a daughter, Annie Henrietta, whom David

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

in 1900. Andrew died in 1902 and at this point, the entire Yule conglomerate came under David's control. In 1919, David Yule and

Thomas Catto, 1st Baron Catto Thomas Sivewright Catto, 1st Baron Catto CBE PC (15 March 1879 – 23 August 1959) was a Scottish businessman and later Governor of the Bank of England. Early life and education Catto was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, to William and Isabella Ca ...

formed Yule Catto and Company Ltd, which is now known as

Synthomer Synthomer plc, formerly known as Yule Catto & Co, is a British-based chemicals business. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company traces its roots back to 1863, when Andrew Yule founded a trading house known as '' Andrew Yul ...

and is listed on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

. Among his other business interests were directorships of

Midland Bank Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836. It ...

Mercantile Bank of India The Mercantile Bank of India, London and China, later Mercantile Bank Ltd (), was an Anglo-Indian bank with business focus in the Far East. It was founded in Bombay in 1853 as the Mercantile Bank of Bombay; and later in 1857 was renamed to Mer ...

Vickers Limited Vickers Limited was a British engineering conglomerate. The business began in Sheffield in 1828 as a steel foundry and became known for its church bells, going on to make shafts and propellers for ships, armour plate and then artillery. Entir ...

, the

Royal Exchange Assurance Company The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a British insurance company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the Royal Exchange, London. Origins The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterpr ...

and ownership of the ''

Daily Chronicle The 'Daily Chronicle' was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the ''Daily News (UK), Daily News'' to become the ''News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd (publis ...

'' newspaper, which he purchased from

Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for lea ...

. David Yule was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

in India on 4 January 1912 and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of

Hugli River The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, Indi ...

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, on 30 January 1922. He died on 3 July 1928. His baronetcy lapsed at his death for lack of an heir. ''The New York Times'' reported that his daughter inherited $100 000 000 on his death, equivalent to $1.6 billion in 2022 money.

Personal life

David and Annie Yule had one child, a daughter called Gladys Yule (1903–1957). In 1925, they commissioned as their family home

Hanstead House Hanstead House or Hanstead Park is a country house estate in Hertfordshire, England. Hanstead is near Bricket Wood, about three miles from Radlett and five miles from St Albans, within the green belt around London. It forms part of the civil parish ...

Bricket Wood Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans and north-northeast of Watford. History The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farmers until Bricket Wood railway station was built in 1861. In 18 ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. Here, the two women set up a very successful

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

farm for the Arabian breed, known as the

Hanstead Stud The Hanstead Stud was a breeding farm in England for Arabian horses. It was active from 1928 to 1957, and its animals had a significant impact in many countries, "second only in importance to" Crabbet Arabian Stud. It was based at Hanstead Park, ...

. Annie Yule also commissioned one of the largest private yachts ever built in the UK, the '' Nahlin'', which weighed 1,574 tons, was long and was said to have cost £250,000. Descendants of the Yule family are still alive today in England.

References

External links

* at the Yule Family website
Andrew Yule & Co LtdYule Catto & Co plc
Businesspeople from Edinburgh 1858 births 1928 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Scottish knights Indian baronets People from Kolkata 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 19th-century Indian businesspeople

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

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