Russell & Company

Russell & Company (Chinese: 旗昌洋行; pinyin: Qíchāng Yángháng) was the largest and most important American trading house in Qing dynasty China from 1842 to its closing in 1891.

Samuel Russell founded Russell & Company in Canton, China, in 1824. Dealing mostly in silks, teas and opium, Russell & Company prospered, and by 1842, it had become the largest American trading house in China. It kept its dominance until its closing in 1891. Russell withdrew from the company in 1836 and returned to the United States.

Notable people of Russell & Company

• Warren Delano, Jr., the grandfather of Franklin Roosevelt (32nd President of the United States) served as the Chief of Operations of Russell and Company in Canton.
• Robert Bennet Forbes (1804–1889) was the head of Russell and Company.
• John Murray Forbes (1813-1898), brother of Robert Bennet Forbes and the great-granduncle of 2004 presidential candidate John Forbes Kerry.
• Abiel Abbot Low, founder of trading company A. A. Low & Brothers, served as a partner.
• William Henry Low, Abiel Abbot Low's uncle, senior partner of the firm.
• William Henry Low, Abiel Abbot Low's brother.
• Augustine Heard, who later founded Augustine Heard & Company, a large trading house in China.
• Russell Sturgis, who later became head of Baring Brothers in London.
• John Cleve Green (1800-1875) Philanthropist - benefactor of Princeton University.

External links

• Russell & Company Records at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School