Johannes di Jacob Galdar

Johannes di Jacob Galdar was an 18th century Armenian merchant stationed in Amsterdam. He arrived in Amsterdam from Iran in the early 1740s and was active to about 1764. Johannes specialized in exporting Dutch imperial cloth and woolen cloth to Russia and several Asian countries.

Johannes di Jacob Galdar first appears in Amsterdam records in 1742. He had two properties there, one near the Armenian Church, and other in a wealthy street on a canal, called Fluwelenburgwal, currently called Oudezijds Voorburgwal. His name appears regularly as a member of the Amsterdam Exchange Bank between 1742 and 1764. In order to spread his trading risks Galdar imported a range of profitable luxurious products like silk, diamonds and cornelian stones. It is also known that his wife was buried on 7 September 1762 in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. It is probable that Johannes returned to Iran in 1764.