Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata

This article is about Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, the father of J. R. D. Tata. For Ratan Naval Tata, the former Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, see Ratan Tata. For Sir Ratan Tata, the philanthropist and son of Jamshedji Tata, see Ratanji Tata.

R. D. Tata
Born	1856 Navsari, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died	1926(1926-00-00) (aged 69–70) Paris, France
Alma mater	Cathedral & John Connon School
Occupation	Industrialist
Spouse	Suzanne Brière
Children	5, including Jehangir
Relatives	see Tata family

Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (1856–1926) was an Indian businessman who played a pivotal role in the growth of the Tata Group in India. He was the first-cousin of Jamsetji Tata and one of the partners in "Tata Sons" founded by Jamsetji Tata. Ratanji was the father of renowned J. R. D. Tata.

Personal life

Ratanji was born in Navsari in the Bombay Presidency in 1856 to Dadabhoy Kawasji Tata & Bhikhibai Tata. Dadabhoy was the son of Kawasji Maneckji Tata and grandson of Maneckji Tata. They were all members of the extended Tata family. Dadabhoy's sister, Jeevanbai, was married to Nusserwanji Ratan Tata (a distant relative). Their son was Jamshedji Tata.

Ratanji studied at The Cathedral & John Connon School and Elphinstone College in Bombay. After graduating, he took up a course in agriculture in Madras. He then joined his family trade in the East Asia.

Ratanji was married to a Parsee woman at a young age. However, she died childless not long after the marriage. Ratanji was in his forties when he married a French woman, Suzanne Brière, in 1902. This was considered revolutionary in his times and was not welcomed by many in the Parsi community. They had five children: Rodabeh, Jehangir, Jimmy, Sylla and Dorab.

Opium trade

Under the name Tata & Co, Ratanji ran an opium importing business in China, which was legal at the time. In 1887, he and other merchants such as David Solomon Sassoon presented a petition on behalf of the opium traders to complain about a Hong Kong Legislative Council bill that threatened to affect their trade.

Director of Tata Steel

Tata Steel was conceived and commissioned by Jamsetji Tata. However, Jamsetji died before the completion of the project. Ratanji played an important role in the completion of the project along with Jamsetji's son Dorab and thus Tata Steel was established in Jamshedpur.

The Tatas supplied steel to the British during the First World War. However, after the war Tata Steel went through a difficult period in the 1920s as steel was dumped in India by Britain and Belgium. Ratanji, along with other directors successfully sought protection for the Indian steel industry from the colonial government of the day and steadied the operations of Tata Steel.

References

• A section of the Tata family tree from the Tata Central Archives