Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet, (; 1841 – 1915) was the third Chief Manager 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 ...

. He was responsible for financing the development of

Colonial Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...

under the first large scale bank.

Early years

Sir Thomas Jackson was born on 4 June 1841 in

Carrigallen Carrigallen () is a small village in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the R201 and R203 roads in the east of the county. , the village had a population of 387. Location The village is set between the north and south shores of Town ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

, Ireland, the second of six sons of David and Elizabeth Jackson. He spend his childhood in

Crossmaglen Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Irel ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

, and in 1860 joined the Belfast Branch of the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

. Jackson travelled to Hong Kong in 1864 to join the Agra and Masterbank. In 1864 the foundation of the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation ("HSBC") building was being developed.Lim, Patricia (2002). ''Discovering Hong Hong's Cultural Heritage, Volume One.'' Central, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. . Jackson joined the bank in 1865, a year after its opening and served terms as accountant in Shanghai and then from 1870 to 1874 as manager in Yokohama.

Achievements

In 1876, after only ten years service in the bank and at the early age of 35, Jackson was appointed the chief manager of HSBC. He held this title, the most senior executive position in the bank, with only short breaks, until 1902. Between April 1886 and September 1887, and again for a year in 1889 and between 1891 and 1893 he relinquished the role to return to the United Kingdom where he took charge of the London office of the bank. Under his business leadership the bank became the premiere bank in Asia. His influence was such that he came to be called the bank's "Great Architect".Collis (1965), p. 142 Brilliant, though also cautious, he also had the nickname "Lucky Jackson", which probably reflected more his innate intuition as when to act quickly and boldly. It was announced that he would receive a

baronetcy 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 ...

in the

1902 Coronation Honours The 1902 Coronation Honours were announced on 26 June 1902, the date originally set for the coronation of King Edward VII. The coronation was postponed because the King had been taken ill two days before, but he ordered that the honours list shou ...

list published on 26 June 1902 for the (subsequently postponed) coronation of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

, and on 24 July 1902 he was created a Baronet, of Stansted House, in the parish of Stansted, in the county of Essex. This entitled him to use the prenominal "Sir" combined with the postnominal abbreviation of "Bart.", which in modern-day usage is further abbreviated to "Bt."

Legacy

In recognition of his services to the bank and Hong Kong, in February 1906 a statue of Jackson was unveiled in

Statue Square Statue Square (; lit. "Empress' Statue Square") is a public pedestrian square in Central, Hong Kong. Built entirely on reclaimed land at the end of the 19th century, Statue Square consists of two parts separated by Chater Road into a nort ...

in front of the bank's Hong Kong premises by the colony's Governor Sir Matthew Nathan. The statue remains to this day.Lambcutlet.
Lambcutlet actual Statue Square box photo
". Retrieved 17 February 2007. Jackson is commemorated in his native Ireland in a stained glass window in Creggan Anglican church, County Armagh.

References

External links

Statue Square Area Photos

Family history of Sir Thomas Jackson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Thomas 1841 births 1915 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Hong Kong bankers HSBC people Irish bankers Irish expatriates in Hong Kong Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong People from County Leitrim People from Crossmaglen 19th-century Irish businesspeople