Entrepreneurs Who Changed History

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JAMSETJI TATA

1839–1904

Indian entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist Jamsetji Tata was the founder of the Tata Group, which later became the biggest conglomerate in India. At the height of British rule in India, Tata set out to prove his country could compete with its colonial masters in the manufacturing of—and trade in—textiles, iron, and steel.

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata was born in South Gujarat, 1839. He graduated from college in Bombay (now Mumbai) and in 1858 joined his father’s export firm—which traded in cotton, opium, and tea—helping set up branches in China, Japan, Europe, and the US. In ...