Jamsetji Tata Biography 
Jamsetji Tata was an Indian pioneer industrialist and the founder of Tata Group, India's biggest conglomerate company. Now Tata Group is one of the leading industries of India, particularly in steel and its manufacturing. Thus he played a significant role in providing the basement and shaping the industrial development of the country.
He was born to a Parsi Zoroastrian family in Navsari, a small village in Gujarat as the son of Nusserwanji and Jeevanbai Tata on 3 March 1839. Tata was the first businessman in a family of Parsi Zoroastrian priests, breaking the family tradition. He started his business in Mumbai. He educated at Elphinstone College completing his education as a ‘Green Scholar’ (graduate). He married Hirabai Daboo while a student. After graduation he stepped into business in the year 1858, just after India’s first revolt against British. He made frequent trips to foreign countries like England, America, continental Europe to gain knowledge about business and modern technology. He noticed that he has good business scope in India and initiated textile industry.
Jamsetji worked in his father's company until he was 29. In 1868, he started his own trading company with Rs. 21,000 capital. He bought a bankrupt oil mill at Chinchpokli in 1869, converted it to a cotton mill and renamed it as Alexandra Mill. After two years he sold the mill in profit to set up another cotton mill at Nagpur in 1874. He gave it the name, Empress Mill. But his real dream was to develop iron and steel industry in India. A world-class learning institution, a unique hotel and a hydro-electric plant were his next set goals. Taj Mahal Hotel at Colaba was inaugurated in 1903 while he was alive and his other dreams were fulfilled later by his son, Dorabji Tata. But he was able to lay the foundation stone of Tata group of industries before he died in 1904.
Published: N/A
Updated: February 26, 2014
