James Finn

James Finn
Born	1806
Died	1872 (aged 65–66)
Resting place	Wimbledon, London
Nationality	British
Occupation	U.K. Consul in Jerusalem, writer, philanthropist
Years active	1846 – 1863
Known for	Writings about Palestine
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Anne Finn
Children	Alexander 'Guy Fawkes' Finn, 1847 Constance Finn, 1851 Arthur Henry Finn, 1854

James Finn was a British Consul in Jerusalem, in the then Ottoman Empire (1846–1863). He arrived in 1845 with his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn. Finn was a devout Christian, who belonged to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but who did not engage in missionary work during his years in Jerusalem.

Finn was a writer and philanthropist. He was a great believer in productivity, an ideology that was very much in vogue at the time, and in 1853 purchased for £250 Karm al-Khalil (Arabic for "Abraham's Vineyard", lit. "vineyard of the loved one", which in Hebrew became Kerem Avraham) a barren piece of land outside the walls of the Old City. Kerem Avraham was established as a training farm for Jews in agriculture and to become productive citizens. Finn employed Jewish labourers to build the first house there in 1855. Cisterns for water storage were built and a soap factory was established which produced high quality soap sold to tourists.

He helped establish the experimental farm at the village of Artas outside Bethlehem.

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