Sir J. N. Tata

Sir J. N. Tata

1910

The "father of Indian industry." Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) was born in Gujarat and graduated from Elphinstone College in Mumbai in 1858. He founded and sold a successful trading firm, and then built a successful cotton mill that since then has grown into the Tata Group, the largest commercial conglomerate in India, with revenue near $30 billion. From hotels to power, steel and other industries, the Tata family and institutes have played a major role in India's growth as a scientific and industrial power. He also built the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai.