Navajbai Tata (1877-1965) was an Indian businesswoman and social activist. She is the grandmother of Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group. She died in Bombay in 1965.
Wiki/Biography
Navajbai Tata was born on Sunday, September 23, 1877 (age 87; died). Her zodiac sign is Virgo.
family
Navajbai Tata belongs to the famous Sett family, whose roots can be traced back to Iran.
Parents and siblings
Her father Ardeshir Merwanji Sett (late) was a businessman and philanthropist. Her mother’s name was Pirojbai (deceased). She is the youngest of her siblings.
husband and children
Her husband Ratanji Jamsetji Tata is a philanthropist, businessman and financier. He died in 1919. Navajbai married Ratanji on November 5, 1892, when he was 15 years old. The couple has lived in the UK most of their lives and has no children.
Ratanji Tata and his wife Navajbai Tata
After Ratanji’s death, Navajbhai adopted Navartata from the orphanage as per the family’s decision. Naval Tata later became director and vice chairman of Tata Sons.
photos of naval tower
other relatives
Her father-in-law, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, is an Indian industrialist and the founder of the Tata Group.
Photos of Jamshetji Tata
Her brother-in-law Dorabji Tata is a businessman who played a key role in the development of the Tata Group.
Photos of Dorabji Tata
Her daughter-in-law, Simone Tata, also the second wife of Naval Tata, is a businesswoman and co-founder of Lakmé.
Simone Tata photos
She has three grandchildren: Ratan Naval Tata, Jimmy Naval Tata and Noel Tata. Ratan serves as chairman of Tata Group. Jimmy is a businessman who owns shares in the Tata Group. Noel is Chairman of Trent and Tata Investments, Managing Director of Tata International, and Vice Chairman of Titan Corporation and Tata Steel.
Photos of Ratan Tata
Photos of Jimmy Naval Tata
Photos of Noel Tata
After Ratan and Jimmy’s parents, Naval and Sooni Commissariat, divorced in 1948, Navajbai took over and raised them.
Ratan Tata and his grandmother Navajbhai Tata
genealogy
Tatas family tree
Click here to know more about the Tatas.
religion
Navajbai Tata believed in Zoroastrianism.
Profession
She played a key role in the formation of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) established after her husband’s death in 1918. In 1925, Navajbai Tata took up the post of director of Tata Sons in Bombay, becoming the first woman to be appointed to the position. In 1928, she founded the Ratan Tata Institute (RTI) in Bombay; the institute was established to help poor and needy Parsi women by providing them with housing facilities, employment, education, etc. In 1932, she was appointed president of the Ratan Tata Institute. She remained a director of Tata Sons until her death in 1965.
salary
In 1941, Navajbai Tata’s salary as chairman of Tata Sons was Rs. 40,000.
die
On August 20, 1965, Navajbhai Tata died of natural causes in Bombay (now Mumbai) at the age of 87.
Facts/Trivia
- Before her marriage, Navajbai Tata was known as Navajbai Sett.
- She had donated Rs. 3 lacs along with her villa ‘Homestead’ in Matheran, Maharashtra was donated to a charity organization which requested her help in helping the poor and needy.
- While living in the UK with her husband Ratanji Tata, Navajbai Tata developed a close and cordial relationship with King George V and Queen Mary.
- After Latanji Tata’s death, Navajbhai Tata donated her paintings to the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai.
- Navajbai Tata completed the construction of Bombay House in Mumbai, which was started during Ratanji’s lifetime.
- Navajbai Tata and her husband are both art connoisseurs. The couple collected various expensive jades, historical artifacts and paintings.
- Navajbai Tata knew how to ride a horse. She became an accomplished horseback rider and played polo at a time when women did not play the sport.
- She was appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of Bombay Parsi Panchayat.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education