Identity area
Authorized form of name
Child , Sir , Josiah , bap 1631, d 1699 , 1st Baronet , economic writer and merchant
Description area
History
Josiah Child was baptised in London in 1631. He was a Portsmouth (and later London) businessman who first became involved with the East India Company in c 1659. He became a shareholder in 1671 and was the largest stockholder by the late 1670s. He published several works on economics and served several times as a Whig MP.