Jehangir Hormasji Kothari ( ur, ﺳﯾﭨﻬ جهانگیر هورموسجی کوٹهاری; 9 November 1857 – 1 November 1934), was a Parsi businessman, merchant and a prominent philanthropist from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

during

British colonial 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 ...

rule. Today, he is best remembered for the

Jehangir Kothari Parade Jehangir Kothari Parade ( ur, ) is a promenade built on land donated by Seth Jehangir Hormusji Kothari to the city of Karachi in 1919. It is situated on a hilltop on the Arabian Sea, in the Clifton Beach area of Karachi. Jehangir Kothari ...

, an elevated sandstone walkway used to walk to Clifton Beach on the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

Ancestry

Kothari's grandfather, Hormusji Sohrabji Kothari (d. 1876), accompanied General Sir

Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, (; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a Major General of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the military conquest of ...

as a

commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some ar ...

agent during the conquest of Sindh Province in 1842-3 and subsequently emigrated from

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in 1846 where he was eccentrically philanthropic.

Life

Kothari was born on 9 November 1857,There is said to be a tombstone in the main city cemetery of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

bearing the inscription "Sir Jehangir H. Kothari, Kt., O.B.E., K.I.H. Born 16 November 1855, Died 1st November 1934". This contradicts the date of birth but confirms the date of death. in

.''Who Was Who – A Companion to Who's Who containing the Biographies of those who died during the Period 1929-1940'', Adam and Charles, London 1941, pp 767b and 768a. He was educated at home and in the Karachi High School Kothari was a member of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and represented them at the

Chicago Exhibition (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1893 on the second of his eleven known voyages around the globe."Sir Jehangir Kothari – Noted Indian Philanthropist", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 4 August 1932, page 8g He published his reminiscences of his first voyage of 1883/4 when he traveled to

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Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

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Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

, and northern portions of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Some of his subsequent voyages took him to more isolated regions, including the

Society Islands The Society Islands (french: Îles de la Société, officially ''Archipel de la Société;'' ty, Tōtaiete mā) are an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the F ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

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Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

, upper

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Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

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Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, upper

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

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, Nova Zembla and

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

."Great Traveller – Sir Jehangir Kothari – Distinguished Imperialist", ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 26 April 1930, page 13e Kothari was also a member of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

and

North British Academy of Arts The North British Academy of Arts (1908–1924) was an art institution of Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England. Overview The Academy, later known as the North British Academy of Arts, Science, Literature, and Music, was located in the Clar ...

, Life Governor of the

Royal Masonic Institution for Boys The Royal Masonic School for Boys was an English independent school for boys at Bushey in Hertfordshire. History The origins of the school lie in the charities established in the late 18th century to clothe and educate the sons of Freemasons nea ...

and

Royal Masonic Institution for Girls The Royal Masonic School for Girls (RMS) is an Independent school (UK), independent school in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England, with day and boarding school, boarding pupils. The school was instituted in 1788, with the aim of caring for th ...

, Honorary Special Magistrate in Karachi since 1892, member of the Cantonment Committee in Karachi since 1890 and Municipal Committees in Karachi since 1884, Lieutenant in the ''Sind Volunteer Rifle Corps'' since 1895, Life Governor of the

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

and member of the Bombay Legislative Council in 1911, fellow of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

and vice-president of the Navy League. He was a patron, trustee and president of many charitable and other institutions in Karachi. Kothari demolished his house on Clifton Hill in 1907, and at that site he built a magnificent pavilion,

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

and pier, which he bequeathed to the people of Karachi to enjoy. Inspired by this generosity, ''Kavasji Hormusji Katrak'' built and gave to the people of Karachi the grand bandstand which looms over the cliff. He also established a school for the blind and sanatorium in Karachi around this time. Kothari was awarded the gold Kaisar-i-Hind Medal (first class) on the occasion of the

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...

to commemorate the coronation of

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 ...

and Queen Mary in 1911. He enjoyed sailing and was a member of the Ripon Club and Willingdon Sports Club of

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, the Zoroastrian Club and Parsi Institute of

, founding member of the

Lloyd's Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...

Polo Club of

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

and member of the Circumnavigators Club. Kothari contributed to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by investing 2,550,000

rupees Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

or £175,000 in the Third War Loan raised in January 1917, and acting as honorary secretary and treasurer in India for the Imperial War Fund. He performed numerous other honorary duties for the British Government for which he maintained a large staff at his own expense. Kothari was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

, and subsequently

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 ...

in the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

, which was conferred at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

by King George V on 8 July 1922. Kothari and his wife Goolbai visited

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

during a trip around South India in 1923. She suddenly became ill and died, and was subsequently interred in the Parsi Aramgah or burial ground. Kothari built a memorial, the Lady Jehangir Kothari Memorial Hall, to his wife in the Bangalore Cantonment in 1931/2. Kothari commissioned the Jehangir Kothari Building or Mansion on the corner of Napier and Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road in Karachi during 1934. It was designed with balconies, pillars, spiral staircase and clock tower after the Gothic style with certain features indigenised in the old Karachi style by subsequent additions. Today it is an eclectic mix of shops and offices in a deteriorating condition. Kothari was an ardent believer in the imperial ideal 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 ...

, for whom he acted as an unofficial world ambassador, and was a member of the British Empire Club. He was convinced that "the British love of sport is the strongest tie for peace", and promoted unity and peace in India through sport, especially

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. Kothari died on 1 November 1934 ''London Gazette'', Issue 34403, 1 June 1937, page 3548b in

. His estate was administered by Messrs. Barrow, Rogers & Nevill of 26 Budge Row, London in 1937.

Read also

*
Impressions of a First Tour Round the World in 1883 and 1884 - Embracing Travels in Europe, the United States of America, Canada, Japan, China, the Straits Settlements, and Northern Portions of India
' by Jehangir H. Kothari, Simmons & Botten, London 1889. * ''Kothari, Jehangir Hormusji'' page 176 in ''Supplement to Who's Who in India - Containing Lives and Photographs of the Recipients of Honours on 12th December 1911, Together with an Illustrated Account of the Visit of Their Imperial Majesties the King-Emperor and Queen-Empress to India and the Coronation Durbar'' by Prag Narain Bhargava, Newul Kishore Press, Lucknow 1912. * ''The Life History of Sir Jehangir H. Kothari'', Times Press, Karachi 1922.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kothari, Jehangir Hormasji 1857 births 1934 deaths People from Clifton, Karachi Parsi people Indian Knights Bachelor Indian philanthropists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society