Elias Hasket Derby | |
|---|---|
 c. 1800–25 portrait by James Frothingham | |
| Born | August 16, 1739 |
| Died | September 8, 1799 Salem, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Merchant |
| Known for | Owner of the first New England vessel to trade with China |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Crowninshield |
Elias Hasket Derby (August 16, 1739 — September 8, 1799) was an American merchant based in Salem, Massachusetts who owned or held shares in numerous privateers. The crews of these ships took more than 150 prizes during the American Revolution, and the sale of the prizes resulted in great wealth to be shared. Derby was in business with his father, who died at the end of the war.
After the war, Derby converted his large, swift Grand Turk to commercial use, and sent it as the first New England vessel to trade directly with China. By specializing in the East Indies trade, Derby became not only one of the wealthiest and most celebrated traders of the post-Revolutionary period in Salem, Massachusetts, but at one point reputedly the richest man in the United States.[1]
- ^ Kellogg, Day Otis (1898). New American Supplement to the Latest Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2. New York, NY: The Werner Company. p. 1031.