James Finlayson (industrialist)

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James Finlayson

James Finlayson (born probably on August 29, 1772 in Penicuik , Scotland ; died probably on August 18, 1852 in Edinburgh ) was a Scottish entrepreneur who contributed significantly to the development of the Finnish textile industry.

Life

Nothing for sure is known about Finlayson's origins. Around 1800 he is said to have emigrated to Russia, where he apparently had personal contact with Tsar Alexander I at the Petersburg court , possibly because both shared an affinity for the theology of the Quakers , and with his support he was able to build up the cotton industry in and around St. Petersburg drive forward.

During a trip to the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1819, he recognized the potential of the Tammerkoski rapids in the city of Tampere , which was founded under Swedish rule in 1779, but had developed slowly, and thanks to the tsar's patronage, he gained a free hand for it his plans to develop this site. In the following years he oversaw the construction of a huge industrial complex, the works of which were powered by the water power of the dammed Tammerkoski. First a wool weaving mill was built, then in 1828 a cotton mill and two cotton spinning mills . Finlayson's correspondence with the Quaker missionary Daniel Wheeler , who is active in Russia, shows that Finlayson also started charitable projects in Tampere, such as the establishment of an orphanage . In 1836, shortly before the completion of the six-story main building of the factory, Finlayson sold the site to entrepreneurs Carl Samuel Nottbeck and Councilor Adolf Rauch, and returned to Scotland in 1838. The Finlayson site named after him subsequently developed into Finland's most important industrial center; Tampere was nicknamed Manse as the “Manchester of the North” . The textile factory still operates under the company name Oy Finlayson Ab .

After his return to Scotland, Finlayson's traces are lost. After having sympathized with them for decades, he joined the Society of Friends and apparently got into an economic emergency. Presumably he died in Edinburgh in 1852.

literature

  • Roberta G. Selleck: Quaker Pioneers in Finnish Economic Development: James Finlayson and the Wheeler Family . In: Quaker History 51: 1, 1962, pp. 32-42.