Sir Mathuradas Vissanji (1916-1949) was an Indian businessman, politician and philanthropist.

Life

He was born on 18 March 1916 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, Maharashtra. He died on 22 December 1949.

Career

Business career

He has been described as a visionary of the textile industry. He founded the Wallace Mills Company, a family owned textile business, which is today managed by his grandson Hemant Vissanji. The Vissanji family also owned the Bombay Burmah Trading Company which is worth over 1 billion $USD today. He was the very first President of the Cotton Association of India.

Political career

He was elected to the

Bombay Legislative Assembly Bombay Legislative Assembly came into existence in 1937, as the legislature of Bombay Presidency, a province of British India. It functioned until 1960, when separate states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed. History The first session of thi ...

in 1935. In the

1934 Indian general election General elections were held in British India in 1934. The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party in the Central Legislative Assembly."Elections in India The New Delhi Assembly, Congress Party's Position", ''The Times'', 10 Decem ...

, he was elected to the

Central Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometim ...

Philanthrophy

He founded the Andheri Education Society. He established the Vissanji Academy, a charitable school that still functions till this day. The school is today managed by his son Pratapsinh Vissanji.

Awards and honours

At the

1943 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1943 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the British Empire. They were published on 2 June 1943 for the United Kingdom and Canada. The re ...

of King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

, he was conferred with a knighthood. His name was thus published as Sir Mathuradas Vissanji by the London Gazette from then on. He has also received an honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt.) from the

Benares Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. ...

. In 1940, he became an honorary

Sheriff of Mumbai The Sheriff of Bombay is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Bombay. The Sheriff is an officer of the High Court and the nominal Head of the High Court Department which carries out the or ...

Family

Sir Mathuradas Vissanji's son was a prominent Indian industrialist, his granddaughter Panna Khatau was married to Sunit Khatau, a member of the Khatau business family.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vissanji, Mathuradas 1916 births 1949 deaths Indian businesspeople Indian Knights Bachelor