JRD Tata Biography

JRD Tata Biography

JRD Tata was the Chairman of TATA Sons, the key holding company of TATA Group for full 50 years (From 1938 to 1988). JRD Tata was born in Paris, France in 1904. He was the second child of Parsi father Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his French Suzanne. His mother language was French.

His real name is “Jehangir” and that’s why J.R.D. Tata.

JRD Tata joined Tata sons in 1925 only at the age of 21 years and in 1938, at the age of 34 years he became the chairman of TATA Sons and took over the entire empire.

After that for 5 decades (Up to 1989), he handled the entire empire of TATA Group and under his leadership, the TATA Group flourished like anything.

When he became chairman of TATA Sons at the age of 34 years, it was the empire of only 14 enterprises but in 5 decades, he turned the same empire into 95 enterprises empire out of which most of enterprises he had started or a controlling interest in it.

This is really a huge success. In 1948, just after freedom, he launched India’s first airlines, TATA Air and later on sold it to the government of India which is today known as Air India.

He was also awarded the title of “Bharat Ratna”. After him, Ratan Tata took the charge of the TATA Group empire and took it to the new levels.

JRD Tata never bribed any minister or political parties for doing his business.

JRD was the trustee of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust from its inception in 1932 for over half a century. Under his guidance, this Trust established Asia's first cancer hospital, the Tata Memorial Center for Cancer, Research and Treatment, in Bombay in 1941. It also founded the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, 1936), the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR, 1945), and the National Center for Performing Arts.

He died in Switzerland on 29 November 1993 at the age of 89.

He is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Read the famous JRD Tata Quotes here.