James Johnstone Keswick (1845–1914) was a Scottish businessman in China and Hong Kong. He was the

tai-pan A tai-pan (,Andrew J. Moody, "Transmission Languages and Source Languages of Chinese Borrowings in English", ''American Speech'', Vol. 71, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 414-415. literally "top class"汉英词典 — ''A Chinese-English Dictionary' ...

of the Jardine Matheson & Co.

Biography

He was the son of the Thomas Keswick, and younger brother of

William Keswick William Keswick (15 April 1834 – 9 March 1912) was a British Conservative politician and businessman, patriarch of the Keswick family, an influential shipping family in Hong Kong associated with Jardine Matheson Holdings. Biography Keswick ...

, who was the founder of the

Keswick family The Keswick family (pronounced with a silent "w", "Kezzick") are a business dynasty of Scottish origin associated with the Far East region since 1855 and in particular the conglomerate Jardine Matheson. As tai-pans of Jardine Matheson & Company, ...

. He arrived in the Far East in 1870 and remained there for 26 years. He became a partner of the Messrs Jardine, Matheson & co. and tai-pan of the firm from the 1890s. He founded Hongkong Land together with his close associate Sir

Paul Chater Sir Catchick Paul Chater ( hy, Փոլ Չաթեր; ; 8 September 1846 – 27 May 1926) was a prominent British businessman of Armenian descent in colonial Hong Kong, whose family roots were in Calcutta, India. Biography Early life Chater was ...

. This was a development company established in 1889 which remained closely associated with Jardine Matheson. Chater and J. J. Keswick became permanent joint managing directors of the new company. He was also appointed as unofficial member of the Legislative Council and

Executive Council of Hong Kong The Executive Council of Hong Kong (ExCo) is the cabinet of the Government of Hong Kong, acting as a formal body of advisers to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong that serves as a core policy-making organ assisting the Chief Executive. It is ...

, chairman of the

Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

and Hong Kong Fire. He was the chairman of the

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC; ) was founded on 29 May 1861, and is the oldest and one of the largest business organizations in Hong Kong. It has around 4,000 corporate members, who combined employ around one-third of Hong Kon ...

in five terms between 1890 and 1900. He had been resident in Japan, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. During his residence in China he was one of the best known figures in the foreign community, in which was nicknamed "James the bloody polite". He married Marion "Minnie" Parkes, who was the daughter of

Harry Smith Parkes Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

, former British minister in Tokyo and Peking. He died at an hotel at

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, at the age of 68, in 1914.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keswick, James Johnstone 1845 births 1915 deaths Hong Kong businesspeople Hong Kong chief executives Scottish expatriates in Hong Kong Scottish expatriates in China Scottish expatriates in Japan Members of the Executive Council of Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council Jardine Matheson Group Chairmen of HSBC Hongkong Land James Johnstone 19th-century Scottish businesspeople

Biography

See also

References