Albert Farley Heard (October4, 1833March26, 1890) was an American banker and diplomat who was the second-ranked member on the founding committee of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). He was the son of Elizabeth Ann Farley and George Washington Heard, brother of

Augustine Heard Augustine Heard (March 30, 1785 – September 14, 1868) was an American entrepreneur, businessman and trader, and founder of the Augustine Heard & Co. firm in China. Early career Augustine Heard was born into a wealthy merchant family of Ips ...

. After graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, he went to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to assist his uncle in business and ultimately succeed him in heading the management of his trading firm, Augustine Heard & Co.

Career in China

Heard was born on October4, 1833 in

Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A reside ...

and graduated from Yale University in 1853, having submitted his thesis on the late medieval philosopher and reformer John Huss. Thereafter he travelled to Canton (now known as

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

), China to join the family firm of Augustine Heard & Co. becoming a partner in 1856 and later managing partner. During his tenure as head of the firm, Heard fought off serious competition in the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

steamer trade from rival American firm

Russell & Company Russell & Company () was the largest American trading house of the mid-19th century in China. The firm specialised in trading tea, silk and opium and was eventually involved in the shipping trade. Foundation In 1818, Samuel Russell was approached ...

. Along with the three other Shanghai businessmen, R.C. Antrobus, James Whittal and Henry Dent, in 1860 Heard purchased 40 mu (about ) of land within the

Shanghai Race Club The Shanghai Race Club was a horse racing club located in Shanghai, China. The Club was based at the Shanghai Racecourse (), and the two names are often used interchangeably. Originally the Race Committee of the International Recreation Club, the ...

for cricket and other sports. He also later served as the Russian consul general in the city, and as the representative of the Chinese government in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In 1887, he published ''The Russian church and Russian dissent, comprising orthodoxy, dissent, and erratic sects'', covering multiple aspects of

Russian orthodoxy Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most C ...

. In 1857, during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

, Heard traveled from Shanghai to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

aboard the steamer ''Antelope''. Outside of business, Heard is known to have owned a collection of pictures by the early photographer

Felice Beato Felice Beato (1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, ...

Return to the US

Heard left China in May 1873, having first conveyed a parcel of land at the corner of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and

Staunton Street Staunton Street () is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Together with the upper section of Elgin Street, it is the heart of the Soho entertainment area, featuring a number of restaurants, bars and shops. It w ...

s in Hong Kong to his "protected" Chinese woman, Lam Kew-fong. Back in America, Heard married Mary Allen Livingstone. He died on March26 1890 in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Albert F. 1833 births 1890 deaths People from Ipswich, Massachusetts History of foreign trade in China Yale University alumni HSBC people American expatriates in China