Thomas Parry (Chennai merchant)

Thomas Parry (1768–1824) was a Welsh merchant. The third son of Edward Parry and Anne Vaughan, of Leighton Hall, near Welshpool, he was instrumental in realising the potential for business and commerce in India. Parry moved to Chennai in southern India, a part of the British India in the late 1780s, and set up a modest business of piece goods and banking on 17 July 1788. The business he set up continued to grow and Parry became a household name in Chennai. Parry set up the EID Parry company in 1787, the corporate headquarters of which stand on the corner. Parry's Corner, a well-known central business district of Chennai was named after him.