Leonard Holliday

Sir Leonard Holliday was one of the founders of the English East India Company and a Lord Mayor of London.

Leonard was born in the mid-16th century in Rodborough in Gloucestershire as the son of cloth maker William Holliday. He moved to London in the late 1560s to become an apprentice in the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors which controlled the men's garment industry in the city. Soon after the completion of apprenticeship he expanded his interests to trade. In 1592 he became a member of the Levant Company, and in 1599 along with other 124 merchants formed the English East India Company, otherwise known as “The Governor and Merchants of the City of London Trading to the East Indies”.

Leonard held an important role in the organizational structure of the company being one of the original “committees” or directors and a joint treasurer from 1600 until 1602. In the first voyage he invested the largest individual stake which amounted to £1000. The first two trading voyages of the East India Company were successful and profitable, providing him and other investors with a considerable return. Therefore, he continued to act as a “committee” of the EIC and invested £400 in the company's third voyage.

During his lifetime Leonard also actively participated in the political life of London. He entered the local government in 1594 serving as an alderman, and performed the duty of city’s sheriff in 1595-1596, and Lord Mayor of London from 1605 to 1606. For his merits Leonard was knighted by King James I in 1603.

He died in 1612, leaving behind a sizeable estate.