Albert Farley Heard (October4, 1833March26, 1890) was an American banker and diplomat who was the second-ranked member on the founding committee of

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly abbreviated as HSBC and formerly known as HongkongBank (; styled ''Wayfoong'' by the bank), is the Hong Kong–based Asia-Pacific subsidiary of the HSBC banking group, for whi ...

(HSBC). He was the son of Elizabeth Ann Farley and George Washington Heard, brother of

Augustine Heard Augustine Heard (March 30, 1785 – September 14, 1868) was an American entrepreneur, businessman and trader, and founder of the Augustine Heard & Co. firm in China. Early career Augustine Heard was born into a wealthy merchant family of Ips ...

. After graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, he went to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to assist his uncle in business and ultimately succeed him in heading the management of his trading firm, Augustine Heard & Co.

Career in China

Heard was born on October4, 1833 in

Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A res ...

and graduated from Yale University in 1853, having submitted his thesis on the late medieval philosopher and reformer

John Huss Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspi ...

. Thereafter he travelled to Canton (now known as

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

), China to join the family firm of Augustine Heard & Co. becoming a partner in 1856 and later managing partner. During his tenure as head of the firm, Heard fought off serious competition in the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

steamer trade from rival American firm

Russell & Company Russell & Company () was the largest American trading house of the mid-19th century in China. The firm specialised in trading tea, silk and opium and was eventually involved in the shipping trade. Foundation In 1818, Samuel Russell was approach ...

. Along with the three other Shanghai businessmen, R.C. Antrobus, James Whittal and Henry Dent, in 1860 Heard purchased 40 mu (about ) of land within the

Shanghai Race Club The Shanghai Race Club was a horse racing club located in Shanghai, China. The club was based at the Shanghai Racecourse (), and the two names are often used interchangeably. Originally the Race Committee of the International Recreation Club, the ...

for cricket and other sports. He also later served as the Russian consul general in the city, and as the representative of the Chinese government in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In 1887, he published ''The Russian church and Russian dissent, comprising orthodoxy, dissent, and erratic sects'', covering multiple aspects of

Russian orthodoxy The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus ...

. In 1857, during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

, Heard traveled from Shanghai to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

aboard the steamer ''Antelope''. Outside of business, Heard is known to have owned a collection of pictures by the early photographer

Felice Beato Felice Beato (c. 1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian Briton, Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photography, war photographer ...

Return to the US

Heard left China in May 1873, having first conveyed a parcel of land at the corner of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

Staunton Street Staunton Street () is a street in Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Together with the upper section of Elgin Street, Hong Kong, Elgin Street, it is the heart of the SoHo, Hong Kong, Soho entertainment ...

s in Hong Kong to his "protected" Chinese woman, Lam Kew-fong. Back in America, Heard married Mary Allen Livingstone. He died on March26 1890 in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Albert F. 1833 births 1890 deaths People from Ipswich, Massachusetts History of foreign trade in China Yale University alumni HSBC people American expatriates in China