David Sime Cargill (9 April 1826 – 25 May 1904) was a Scottish businessman. He was the founder of

Burmah Oil The Burmah Oil Company was a leading British oil company which was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 1966, Castrol was acquired by Burmah, which was renamed Burmah-Castrol. BP Amoco purchased the company in 2000. History The c ...

which expanded to become one of the United Kingdom's largest oil companies.

Biography

He was born on 9 April 1826, in Maryton, near Montrose, to James Cargill and his wife, Helen Thomson. Cargill briefly worked in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

at the offices of the East India merchants William Milne & Co for whom, in 1844, he set sail for Ceylon to establish a branch of the company there. He became a local partner in Colombo in 1850. In 1861, Cargill returned to Glasgow to acquire the whole business which carried on an extensive trade with India as well as Ceylon.Dictionary of Scottish Business Biography, published 1986History of the Burmah Oil Company 1886-1924 by T.A.B Corley, published in 1983 He remained chairman of Cargills in Ceylon until his death in 1904. In 1872, he became a director of the Glasgow-based Rangoon Oil Company engaged in marketing oil products. Four years later he bought it outright and invested further funds but it was up against the monopoly of the Kingdom of

Upper Burma Upper Myanmar ( or , also called Upper Burma) is one of two geographic regions in Myanmar, the other being Lower Myanmar. Located in the country's centre and north stretches, Upper Myanmar encompasses six inland states and regions, including ...

which controlled oil exploration. It was in 1886 that Cargill obtained exploration rights, as well as improving refining methods in Rangoon, and he founded

Ltd that year. David Sime Cargill greatly expanded business, eventually supplying 100% of Burma's oil and by-product requirements and 13% of India's kerosene requirements. He continued as chairman until his death in 1904 at home in Carruth,

Bridge of Weir Bridge of Weir is a village within the Renfrewshire council areas of Scotland, council area and wider counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying within the Gryf ...

. Cargill was also a director of the Merchants House of Glasgow, and of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. He was a patron of the arts and became president of the city's Royal Institute of Fine Arts. He died in

Kilmacolm Kilmacolm () is a village and Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Inverclyde council area, and the Counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on th ...

, on 25 May 1904, aged 78, and is buried with his first wife Margaret in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian era, Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have ...

. Despite his wealth he has a small simple gravestone.

Family

He married Margaret Traill of Arbroath in 1861 and together they went on to have three sons and two daughters. Margaret died giving birth to David William Traill Cargill in 1872. He married again in 1878 to Connel Elizabeth Auld and together they had one son and one daughter. His second son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, succeeded him as chairman of Burmah Oil.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cargill, David Sime 1826 births 1904 deaths People from Montrose, Angus British businesspeople in the oil industry Burmah-Castrol BP people Scottish company founders 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis Scottish chairpersons of corporations