James Wilson (businessman)
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The Right Honourable James Wilson |
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A portrait of James Wilson by Sir John Wilson Gordon, published in The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist 1843–1993. The portrait was presented to Mrs Wilson in 1859, by the Royal Scottish Academy.
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| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | |
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In office 5 January 1853 – 21 February 1858 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister |
The Earl of Aberdeen The Viscount Palmerston |
| Preceded by | George Alexander Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | George Alexander Hamilton |
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Paymaster-General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade |
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In office 18 June 1859 – 12 August 1859 |
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| Monarch | Victoria |
| Prime Minister | The Viscount Palmerston |
| Preceded by | Lord Lovaine |
| Succeeded by | Hon. William Cowper |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 June 1805 Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland |
| Died |
11 August 1860 (aged 55) Calcutta, India |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political party |
Whig Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Preston |
| Alma mater | None |
James Wilson (3 June 1805 – 11 August 1860) was a Scottish businessman, economist, and Liberal politician who founded The Economist weekly and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, which merged with Standard Bank in 1969 to form Standard Chartered.
Wilson was born in Hawick in the Borders. His wealthy father William Wilson owned a textile mill, and his ancestors were local sheep farmers. He was the fourth of 15 children, of whom 10 reached adulthood. His mother died when James was young.
A successful disciplined autodidact scholar from a Quaker family, he was destined to be a schoolmaster but hated it so much that he "would rather to be the most menial servant in [his] father's mill". After considering studying for election to the Faculty of Advocates, against his family religion, he decided to be schooled in economics. So at the age of 16, he became an apprentice in a hat factory. Later, his father then bought the business for him and his elder brother, William. They left Scotland and moved to London, England, when James was 19, with a gift of £2,000 each (£130,000 in 2005 pounds).
The brothers established a manufacturing factory—Wilson, Irwin & Wilson—that they dissolved in 1831. Wilson continued in the same line of business with much success (his net worth was £25,000 in 1837, or £1,630,000 in 2005 pounds). During the economic crisis of 1837, he lost most of his wealth when the price of indigo fell. By 1839 he sold most of his property and avoided bankruptcy. However, in 1853 he founded The Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, which later merged with the Standard Bank to form Standard Chartered Bank in 1969.
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