J. R. D. Tata

J. R. D. Tata
Tata at an event in 1955
Born	(1904-07-29)29 July 1904 Paris, France
Died	29 November 1993(1993-11-29) (aged 89) Geneva, Switzerland
Citizenship	French Indian
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Net worth	£50 billion (1993)
Spouse(s)	Thelma Vicaji Tata
Parent(s)	Ratanji D. Tata Suzanne Brière
Relatives	See Tata family

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy "J. R. D." Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was a French-born Indian aviator, entrepreneur, chairman of Tata Group and the shareholder of Tata Sons.

Born into the elite class Parsi family of India, the Tata family, he was the son of notable businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and Suzanne Brière, the first woman in India to drive a car. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was married to Tata's niece, Rattanbai Petit. Tata became the first licensed pilot in India, in 1929. He is best known for being the founder of several industries under the Tata Group, including Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, Titan Industries, Tata Tea, Voltas and Air India. In 1983, he was awarded the French Legion of Honour and, in 1992 and 1955, two of India's highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan, were bestowed to him for his contributions to Indian industry.

J. R. D. Tata was born as Jehangir on 29 July 1904 into a Parsi family. He was the second child of businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French wife, Suzanne "Sooni" Brière. His father was a first cousin of Jamsetji Tata, a pioneer industrialist in India. He had one elder sister Sylla, a younger sister Rodabeh and two younger brothers Darab and Jimmy Tata. His sister, Sylla, was married to Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, the second baronet of Petits. His niece, Rattanbai Petit, was the wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who later became the founder of Pakistan in August 1947. His grandniece, Dina Jinnah, was married to Neville Wadia, a notable businessman.