George Yule (17 April 1829 – 26 March 1892) was a Scottish merchant in England and India who served as the fourth President of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in 1888 at Allahabad, the first non-Indian to hold that office. He was founder of George Yule & Co. of London (now

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 ...

, a

FTSE 250 The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...

company), and headed Andrew Yule & Co., of

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 ...

. He served as

Sheriff of Calcutta The Sheriff of Kolkata is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Sheriff has an office and staff in Calcutta High Court but does not have executive powers. Mumbai (Bo ...

and President of

Bengal Chamber of Commerce The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in West Bengal, India. It is the oldest chamber of commerce in India, and one of the oldest in Asia. Established in 1853, finding its o ...

. He killed almost 400 tigers during his tenure as Administrator. __TOC__

Merchant in England and India

Around 1855 George Yule and his brother

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 ...

moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and in 1858 they established a warehouse partnership there. The business flourished, enabling George Yule to reside at

Platt Hall Platt Fields Park is a large public park in Fallowfield, Manchester, England which is home to Platt Hall. Fallowfield lies to the south and Wilmslow Road runs along its eastern edge. Description The centrepiece of the park is a large pleasure ...

, Manchester, and at 22A Austin Friars (near the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

), while his brother moved to India. In 1875 George Yule, accompanied by their nephew

David Yule Sir David Yule, 1st Baronet (4 August 1858 – 3 July 1928) was a Scottish businessman based in British India. The ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' judged him "arguably the most important businessman in India" and quoted his obituary ...

(son of the third brother, David), joined Andrew in India. George, who was childless, served as the principal director of the various family enterprises. Andrew's daughter Annie married her cousin David and the wealth was consolidated over the generations. George Yule is interred at Dunnottar kirkyard.

Merchant in England and India

References

Further reading