John Dent (merchant)

John Dent
John Dent
Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation
	In office; January 1866 – February 1867
Preceded by	Francis Chomley
Succeeded by	E. Cunningham
Personal details
Born	c. 1821
Died	1892 (aged 71)
Occupation	Businessman

City Hall

was built on the donation of John Dent.

John Dent (c. 1821–1892) was an English merchant of the then prominent trading firm

Shanghai Municipal Council

.

Biography

John was born in 1821 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

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

Hong Kong Hotel

Co.

Dent was noted for his luxurious lifestyle which he was reported to have spent £10,000 on a racehorse to win the Hong Kong cup.

City Hall.^[13]

In 1870, Dent recommenced business as

Shanghai Municipal Council and served in that position until January 1873^[15]

References

^
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53862. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. 25 July 1866.
^ ^a ^b "The English November Mail per Bombay". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 January 1867. p. 1.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. Vol. 3, no. 30. 26 December 1857.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 125. 9 November 1861.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 147. 10 August 1866.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 109. 15 July 1867.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. Vol. 4, no. 180. 30 October 1858.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. Vol. 4, no. 70. 12 May 1866.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 49. 28 April 1867.
^ "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. 21 December 1867. p. 434.
^ Wright, Arnold, ed. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China. p. 153.
^ "香港大會堂50周年：從小見大變化難料". Wen Wei Po (in Chinese). 22 June 2012.
^ Notice in the North China Herald, 16 June 1870, p437
^ The Chronicle & Directory for China and Japan 1872, entry for Dent; Municipal Council Report and Budget 1874, p4-5

Legislative Council of Hong Kong
New seat	Unofficial Member 1857–1861 With: Joseph Jardine, George Lyall (1857–1860) Alexander Perceval, Angus Fletcher (1860–1861)	Succeeded by Francis Chomley
Preceded by Francis Chomley	Unofficial Member 1866–1867 Served alongside: James Whittall, Hugh Bold Gibb	Succeeded by Phineas Ryrie
Preceded by Francis Chomley	Senior Unofficial Member 1866–1867	Succeeded by James Whittall
Business positions
Preceded by Francis Chomley	Chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation 1866–1867	Succeeded by E. Cunningham

[familiy-1] 
doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53862. (Subscription or UK public library membership
required.)

[2] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. 25 July 1866.

[Argus-3] "The English November Mail per Bombay". The Argus. Melbourne. 12 January 1867. p. 1.

[4] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. Vol. 3, no. 30. 26 December 1857.

[5] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 125. 9 November 1861.

[6] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 147. 10 August 1866.

[7] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 109. 15 July 1867.

[8] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. Vol. 4, no. 180. 30 October 1858.

[9] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. Vol. 4, no. 70. 12 May 1866.

[10] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. No. 49. 28 April 1867.

[11] "Hong Kong Government Reports Online" (PDF). The Hongkong Government Gazette. 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.

[14] Notice in the North China Herald, 16 June 1870, p437

[15] The Chronicle & Directory for China and Japan 1872, entry for Dent; Municipal Council Report and Budget 1874, p4-5

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