JAMSETJI TATA DEATH ANNIVERSARY: From an iron and steel company, a world-class educational institution, to the first hydroelectric power plant, the founder of the TATA group Jamsetji Tata sowed the seeds of development on the Indian soil.
Being a visionary with an exceptional entrepreneurial spirit, Jamsetji Tata shaped a successful business conglomerate and helped bring India on par with other industrial nations. Today, on the death anniversary of Jamsetji Tata, let us remember the industrialist and how he established the steel-to-salt conglomerate.
Born on March 3, 1839, in the Navsari town of Gujarat, Jamsetji was the only son of Nusserwanji Tata. In a family of priests, he turned out to be the first one to dive into business. At the age of 14, Jamsetji joined his father in Bombay and went to Elphinstone College there.
He received a liberal education and graduated in 1858 which made him harbour a love for academics and reading throughout his life. He later joined his father’s small firm in 1857 and gained experience for nine years.
Then, at 29 years, Jamsetji went on to open his trading company with a capital of Rs 21,000. He believed that Indian companies had the potential to dominate the British textile industry and opened a cotton mill in 1869. Jamsetji sold the mill two years later and went to England on an extended visit to study the Lancashire cotton trade. Impressed by the machinery, quality of produce and workforce, Jamsetji made it a point to achieve it in his homeland.
Jamsetji also nurtured the dream of establishing a steel plant capable of making the best quality products. The idea struck him during his trip to Manchester where he went to check new machinery for his mill. However, Jamsetji could not materialise this dream before dying in 1904.
