Sir Mangaldas Nathubhoy (15 October 1832 – 9 March 1890), Seth or head of the Kapol Bania

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

, well known for their thrift and keen commercial instincts.

Biography

He was born of a family whose ancestors emigrated from Diu Goghla district to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

soon after Bombay came into British possession. Ramdas Manordas, his grandfather, amassed a considerable fortune, which, owing to the premature death of his father, came into the sole possession of Mangaldas at the age of eleven. He had to take charge of the business in early life, though he gave some time to English studies. He was a noted cotton mill merchant and was agent of Bombay United Mill from 1860 to 1874, when he resigned and agency was given to Khatau Maccanji.Shyam Rungta.
The Rise of Business Corporations in India 1851-1900
'. CUP Archive; 2 February 1970 [Retrieved 18 March 2017]. GGKEY:NC1SA25Y2CB. p. 237–238, 328. In 1859, Mangaldas was made a Justice of the Peace, and was appointed a Commissioner of Income Tax in 1860. In 1862, he assisted in establishing the Hindu Boys' School in Bombay, founded under the patronage of the Students' Literary and Scientific Society. In the same year, he founded a fellowship in

Bombay university University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

to allow graduates to spend some years in Europe. A bequest in his will enabled the university to establish seven similar scholarships. He took keen interest in learning, and in such institutions as the Asiatic and geographical societies. On the death of Nathubhoy's wife in 1864, he established a dispensary at

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district ...

in her memory and also a special female ward in connection with the David Sassoon hospital in

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

. As a merchant Mangaldas was upright and successful. In social matters he stood forth as a reformer, and to him the change to election from hereditary succession to the headship of the caste is due. In 1866 he was nominated to the

Bombay Legislative Council Bombay Legislative Council was the legislature of the Bombay Province and later the upper house of the bicameral legislature of Bombay Province in British India and the Indian state of Bombay. History The Indian Councils Act 1861 set up the B ...

as a non-official member and sat until 1874. In 1867 he revived the Bombay Association, a political body, over which he presided for a time. In 1872 he was made CSI, and in 1875 the dignity of

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

was conferred on him. Besides a large donation to the Indian Famine Fund, Sir Mangaldas is known to have expended 500,000 on charities. He died at Bombay on 9 March 1890.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathubhoy 1832 births 1890 deaths Knights Bachelor Indian businesspeople in textiles Businesspeople from Mumbai Members of the Bombay Legislative Council 19th-century Indian philanthropists Gujarati people Gujaratis from Mumbai