James Wilson (businessman)

James Wilson
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.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
In office
5 January 1853 – 21 February 1858
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterThe Earl of Aberdeen
The Viscount Palmerston
Preceded byGeorge Alexander Hamilton
Succeeded byGeorge Alexander Hamilton
Paymaster General and
Vice-President of the Board of Trade
In office
18 June 1859 – 12 August 1859
MonarchVictoria
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Palmerston
Preceded byLord Lovaine
Succeeded byHon. William Cowper
Finance Member, Viceroy's Executive Council
In office
December 1859 – 11 August 1860
MonarchVictoria
Governor‑GeneralCharles Canning, 1st Earl Canning
Prime MinisterThe Viscount Palmerston
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded bySir Samuel Laing
Personal details
Born3 June 1805 (1805-06-03)
Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland
Died11 August 1860 (1860-08-12) (aged 55)
Calcutta, India
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Political partyWhig
Liberal
SpouseElizabeth Preston
Children6

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.[1][2][3][4] He was the first Finance Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from December 1859 until his death in August 1860. Sent there to put order into the chaos that followed the "Sepoy Mutiny" of 1857, he presented India's first budget, and was responsible for the government accounting system, Pay Office, and audit, apart from government paper currency, Indian Police, a Military Finance Commission, and a Civil Finance Commission.[5]

  1. ^ "A Scotchman inside every man. (James Wilson, founder of The Economist)". The Economist. 11 September 1993.
  2. ^ James Wilson by Ruth Dudley Edwards in Oxford DNB
  3. ^ Ruth Dudley Edwards (1993). The Pursuit of Reason: The Economist 1843–1993. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Press. ISBN 978-0-87584-608-8.
  4. ^ Michael Stenton, Who's Who of British MPs (Harvester, Sussex, 1976) ISBN 0-85527-219-8
  5. ^ Sreekumar, G. (20 January 2021). "From Hawick to Hawick: The story of The Economist founder James Wilson". Business Standard India. Retrieved 8 September 2021.