Sir Thomas Sutherland, (, 16 August 1834 – 1 January 1922) was a Scottish banker and politician, initially elected to represent the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and then as a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

. He founded

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc ( zh, t_hk=滙豐; initialism from its founding member The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) is a British universal bank and financial services group headquartered in London, England, with historical and business li ...

and was a director of P&O.

Early life

Sutherland was the son of Robert Sutherland and Christian Webster 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 ...

. He was educated at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

Career

Sutherland got his start clerking in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

office of P&O. Soon after, P&O promoted Sutherland to superintendent, assigning him to

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British Empire, British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 ...

to manage the firm's Asian operation. In 1863, he became the first chairman of the

Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock was a Hong Kong dockyard, once among the largest in Asia. History The Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company was founded in 1866 by Douglas Lapraik and Thomas Sutherland. It was located on the west Kowloon coast betwee ...

. In order to help finance the burgeoning trade between China and Europe, and explore the potential for China—United States trade, Sutherland established

in 1865 and became its first vice-chairman. He was appointed member of the

Legislative Council of Hong Kong The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, colloquially known as LegCo, is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Hong Kong. It sits under People's Republic of China, China's "one country, two systems" c ...

from 1865 to 1866. In 1872 he was appointed Managing Director of P&O. In November 1884, Sutherland was elected at a by-election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

. A Liberal, he was re-elected in

1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

, but when the Liberals split over

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

he joined the breakaway

Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

. He was re-elected as a Liberal Unionist in

1886 Events January * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...

, but lost the seat at the 1892 general election. However, he was reinstated when his opponent was unseated on petition, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1900 general election.

Personal life

In 1880, Sutherland married Alice MacNaught. She was the daughter of Rev. John Macnaught of Trinity Church, Conduit Street,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The couple had two sons, and a daughter, Helen Christian Sutherland (1881–1965), known as an art patron; one of the sons, Eric Macnaught Sutherland, died in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, the other son, Thomas Leslie Macnaught Sutherland, died during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1920, his wife Alice died.

Death and legacy

In 1922, Sutherland died in

, England. Sutherland Street in

Sheung Wan Sheung Wan (Chinese: 上環) is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Weste ...

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 ...

was named after him.

References

External links

*
Electric Scotland – Sir Thomas Sutherland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Thomas HSBC people History of CK Hutchison Holdings Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George 1834 births 1922 deaths Scottish bankers Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Politics of Inverclyde Scottish company founders 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Members of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 Liberal Unionist Party MPs for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 Hong Kong bankers Businesspeople awarded knighthoods British financial company founders