SIR COWASJI JEHANGIR

See also:

• SIR COWASJI JEHANGIR READYMONEY (1812-1878)

READYMONEY (1812-1878)  , " the Peabody of Bombay." Early in the 18th century three Parsee brothers moved from Nowsari, near Surat, in Gujarat, to Bombay, and became the pioneers of a lucrative trade with China . They gained the sobriquet of " Readymoney," which they adopted as a surname . Only Hirji Jewanji Readymoney left issue, two daughters, the elder of whom married a Banaji, and the younger a Dady Sett . The son of the former, Jehangir Hirji, married Mirbae, the daughter of the latter, and was made the heir not only of his grandfather, but of his two grand-uncles . The younger of their two sons was Cowasji Jehangir . His only English education was at the then well-known school kept by Serjeant Sykes in the Fort of Bombay . At the age of 15 he entered the firm of Duncan, Gibb & Co. as " godown keeper," or warehouse clerk . In 1837 he was promoted to the responsible and lucrative appointment of " guarantee broker " to two of the leading European firms of Bombay . In 1846 he was able to begin trading on his own account . He was made a J.P. for the town and island of Bombay, and a member of the board of conservancy; and in 1866 was appointed a commissioner of income tax, his tactful management being largely responsible for the fact that this tax, then new to Bombay and unpopular, was levied with unexpected financial success . He was made C.S.I. in 1871; and in 1872 he was created a Knight Bachelor of the United Kingdom, and his statue, by T . Woolner, R .

A., was erected in the town

hall . His donations to the institutions of Bombay amounted to close on £200,000 . His health broke down in 1871, and he died in 1878, being succeeded by his son, Sir J . Cowasji Jehangir [Readymoney], who was created a Knight Bachelor in 1895, and a Baronet in 1908 . See J . Cowasji Jehangir, Sir Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney (189o) . (M . M .