James Geiss

James Geiss (February 13, 1820 - August 30, 1878) was a noted nineteenth-century English businessman from Dover, Kent. His contributions to whaling were well-noted, and he was one of the last whaling tycoons in English history.

Life and career

Geiss's career began modestly as an apprentice on an English whaling boat at the age of sixteen, where he received his first taste of business on the open seas. Geiss was noted early on for his keen ability to calculate where the whales were most likely to congregate, and his predictions resulted in a marked increase in the profitability of several voyages. Armed with this ability and sound financial advice from his uncle, an economist, Geiss was able to rise steadily in the ranks of his company, gaining his first commission as a captain at the age of twenty-seven.

Geiss changed his plans in 1854, when he resigned his commission to start the North Sea Whaling Company, his own enterprise, with four ships initially. Geiss's fortunes waxed considerably in the ensuing years, gaining a one-third market share of lamp oil sales. He competed successfully with Norwegian whalers in that area along with rival domestic companies. In 1862, at the peak of his enterprise, he owned sixty-seven ships making a total gross profit of over fifteen million pounds sterling.

Unfortunately for Geiss, his fortunes did not last. Whaling entered a long decline, and his business ceased to be profitable. Geiss was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1874, and he died penniless in his home town of Dover four years later, one of the last true legends on the English whaling scene.