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John was born in 1892 in the [[Far East]] merchant family. His uncle Thomas Dent started the [[Dent & Co.]] in [[Canton]] in the 1820s and his two other uncles [[Lancelot Dent|Lancelot]] and Wilkinson Dent were the heads of the firm<ref name="familiy">{{cite journal|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=61647&back=|publisher=Oxford University Press|first=Philip K.|last=Law|title=Dent family (per. c.1820–1927)|journal=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|year=2004}}</ref> and led to the firm into one of the largest [[hong (business)|hongs]] in China and early colonial Hong Kong.
John was born in 1892 in the [[Far East]] merchant family. His uncle Thomas Dent started the [[Dent & Co.]] in [[Canton]] in the 1820s and his two other uncles [[Lancelot Dent|Lancelot]] and Wilkinson Dent were the heads of the firm<ref name="familiy">{{cite journal|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/templates/article.jsp?articleid=61647&back=|publisher=Oxford University Press|first=Philip K.|last=Law|title=Dent family (per. c.1820–1927)|journal=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|year=2004}}</ref> and led to the firm into one of the largest [[hong (business)|hongs]] in China and early colonial Hong Kong.


John Dent joined Dent & Co. and became the senior partner of the firm. In 1863, he was elected the third chairman of the [[Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce]]. He played a leading role in the establishment of the [[Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company]]<ref name="familiy"/> and was one of the proprietors when the bank was incorporated in 1866.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|date=25 July 1866|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1866/713501.pdf}}</ref>
John Dent joined Dent & Co. and became the senior partner of the firm. In 1863, he was elected the third chairman of the [[Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce]]. He played a leading role in the establishment of the [[Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company]]<ref name="familiy"/> and was one of the proprietors when the bank was incorporated in 1866.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|date=25 July 1866|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1866/713501.pdf}}</ref> He returned to London in 1864 with a fortune of about £800,000, which he amassed in China, and joined the formation of the Blakely Ordnance Company and became the chairman of the firm with the capital of £120 000.<ref name="Argus">{{cite news|newspaper=The Argus|location=Melbourne|date=12 January 1867|page=1|title=The English November Mail per Bombay}}</ref>


John Dent was appointed an unofficial [[Justice of the Peace]] in 1844. In 1857, he was appointed member of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=30|volume=3|date=26 December 1857|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1857/724386.pdf}}</ref> He resigned from the office in 1861 and replaced by [[Francis Chomley]],<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=125||date=9 Novmeber 1861|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1861/720939.pdf}}</ref> another partner of the Dent & Co.. He was reappointed to the Legislative Council in 1866.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=147||date=10 August 1866|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1866/713861.pdf}}</ref> He resigned in 1867 after his firm went bankrupt in 1867 and was replaced by [[Phineas Ryrie]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=109||date=15 July 1867|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1867/711749.pdf}}</ref> Dent was also appointed consul for the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] and later the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in Hong Kong from 1858 to 1867.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=180|volume=4|date=30 October 1858|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1858/723192.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=70|volume=4|date=12 May 1866|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1866/713102.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=49|date=28 April 1867|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1868/709313.pdf}}</ref>
John Dent was appointed an unofficial [[Justice of the Peace]] in 1844. In 1857, he was appointed member of the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=30|volume=3|date=26 December 1857|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1857/724386.pdf}}</ref> He resigned from the office in 1861 and replaced by [[Francis Chomley]],<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=125||date=9 Novmeber 1861|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1861/720939.pdf}}</ref> another partner of the Dent & Co.. He was reappointed to the Legislative Council in 1866.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=147||date=10 August 1866|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1866/713861.pdf}}</ref> He resigned in 1867 after his firm went bankrupt in 1867 and was replaced by [[Phineas Ryrie]].<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=109||date=15 July 1867|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1867/711749.pdf}}</ref> Dent was also appointed consul for the [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] and later the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in Hong Kong from 1858 to 1867.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=180|volume=4|date=30 October 1858|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1858/723192.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=70|volume=4|date=12 May 1866|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1866/713102.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|number=49|date=28 April 1867|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1868/709313.pdf}}</ref>


Dent & Co. went bankrupt in 1867 during the worldwide financial crisis which originated in 1866 in London. The petition for adjudication of bankruptcy was filed in the [[Supreme Court of Hong Kong]] on 29 June 1867.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|page=434|date=21 December 1867|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1867/712466.pdf}}</ref> Dent had to removed his headquarters in Shanghai and sold the Dent Building to the [[Hong Kong Hotel]] Co.
Dent & Co. went bankrupt in 1867 during the worldwide financial crisis which originated in 1866 in London. They suffered a loss of no less than £200,000 by the malversations of a Portuguese clerk in their employment at Shanghai, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.<ref name="Argus"/> The petition for adjudication of bankruptcy was filed in the [[Supreme Court of Hong Kong]] on 29 June 1867.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hongkong Government Gazette|page=434|date=21 December 1867|url=http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkgro/view/g1867/712466.pdf}}</ref> Dent had to removed his headquarters in Shanghai and sold the Dent Building to the [[Hong Kong Hotel]] Co.


Dent was noted by his luxurious lifestyle which he was reported to have spent £10,000 on a racehorse to win the Hong Kong cup.<ref name="familiy"/> The clock-tower at the end of [[Pedder Street]] and the entrance to [[Queen's Road, Hong Kong|Queen's Road]] in [[Central, Hong Kong]], erected by public subscription in 1862, was at the suggestion of John Dent, whose original design had to be stripped of its original decorative features, owing to the waning enthusiasm of the community.<ref>{{cite book|page=153|title=Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China|editor-first=Arnold|editor-last=Wright|year=1908}}</ref> John Dent also donated a fountain at the entrance of the old [[City Hall, Hong Kong|City Hall]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Wen Wei Po|title=香港大會堂50周年：從小見大 變化難料|date=22 June 2012|language=Chinese|url=http://paper.wenweipo.com/2012/06/22/OT1206220007.htm}}</ref>
Dent was noted by his luxurious lifestyle which he was reported to have spent £10,000 on a racehorse to win the Hong Kong cup.<ref name="familiy"/> The clock-tower at the end of [[Pedder Street]] and the entrance to [[Queen's Road, Hong Kong|Queen's Road]] in [[Central, Hong Kong]], erected by public subscription in 1862, was at the suggestion of John Dent, whose original design had to be stripped of its original decorative features, owing to the waning enthusiasm of the community.<ref>{{cite book|page=153|title=Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China|editor-first=Arnold|editor-last=Wright|year=1908}}</ref> John Dent also donated a fountain at the entrance of the old [[City Hall, Hong Kong|City Hall]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Wen Wei Po|title=香港大會堂50周年：從小見大 變化難料|date=22 June 2012|language=Chinese|url=http://paper.wenweipo.com/2012/06/22/OT1206220007.htm}}</ref>

Revision as of 13:13, 17 January 2014

John Dent
Unofficial Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong
In office
26 December 1857 – 8 November 1861
Appointed bySir George Bowen
Preceded byJ. F. Edger
Succeeded byFrancis Chomley
In office
12 May 1866 – 20 June 1867
Preceded byFrancis Chomley
Succeeded byPhineas Ryrie
Personal details
Born1821
Died1892 (aged 71)
OccupationBusinessman
The fountain in front of the old City Hall was built on the donation of John Dent.

John Dent (1821–1892) was an English merchant of the then prominent trading firm Dent & Co. and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.

Biography

John was born in 1892 in the Far East merchant family. His uncle Thomas Dent started the Dent & Co. in Canton in the 1820s and his two other uncles Lancelot and Wilkinson Dent were the heads of the firm[1] and led to the firm into one of the largest hongs in China and early colonial Hong Kong.

John Dent joined Dent & Co. and became the senior partner of the firm. In 1863, he was elected the third chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. He played a leading role in the establishment of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company[1] and was one of the proprietors when the bank was incorporated in 1866.[2] He returned to London in 1864 with a fortune of about £800,000, which he amassed in China, and joined the formation of the Blakely Ordnance Company and became the chairman of the firm with the capital of £120 000.[3]

John Dent was appointed an unofficial Justice of the Peace in 1844. In 1857, he was appointed member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.[4] He resigned from the office in 1861 and replaced by Francis Chomley,[5] another partner of the Dent & Co.. He was reappointed to the Legislative Council in 1866.[6] He resigned in 1867 after his firm went bankrupt in 1867 and was replaced by Phineas Ryrie.[7] Dent was also appointed consul for the Kingdom of Sardinia and later the Kingdom of Italy in Hong Kong from 1858 to 1867.[8][9][10]

Dent & Co. went bankrupt in 1867 during the worldwide financial crisis which originated in 1866 in London. They suffered a loss of no less than £200,000 by the malversations of a Portuguese clerk in their employment at Shanghai, who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment.[3] The petition for adjudication of bankruptcy was filed in the Supreme Court of Hong Kong on 29 June 1867.[11] Dent had to removed his headquarters in Shanghai and sold the Dent Building to the Hong Kong Hotel Co.

Dent was noted by his luxurious lifestyle which he was reported to have spent £10,000 on a racehorse to win the Hong Kong cup.[1] The clock-tower at the end of Pedder Street and the entrance to Queen's Road in Central, Hong Kong, erected by public subscription in 1862, was at the suggestion of John Dent, whose original design had to be stripped of its original decorative features, owing to the waning enthusiasm of the community.[12] John Dent also donated a fountain at the entrance of the old City Hall.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c Law, Philip K. (2004). "Dent family (per. c.1820–1927)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). 25 July 1866.
  3. ^ a b "The English November Mail per Bombay". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 January 1867. p. 1.
  4. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). Vol. 3, no. 30. 26 December 1857.
  5. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). No. 125. 9 Novmeber 1861. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  6. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). No. 147. 10 August 1866. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). No. 109. 15 July 1867. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  8. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). Vol. 4, no. 180. 30 October 1858.
  9. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). Vol. 4, no. 70. 12 May 1866.
  10. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). No. 49. 28 April 1867.
  11. ^ "The Hongkong Government Gazette" (PDF). 21 December 1867. p. 434.
  12. ^ Wright, Arnold, ed. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China. p. 153.
  13. ^ "香港大會堂50周年：從小見大 變化難料". Wen Wei Po (in Chinese). 22 June 2012.
Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded by Senior Unofficial Member
in Legislative Council
1866–1867 		Succeeded by

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