The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Begg, Ferdinand Faithfull

by Philip Mennell

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Begg, Ferdinand Faithfull, F.R.G.S., is the son of Dr. James Begg, of the Free Church of Scotland, and was born in Edinburgh in 1847. He emigrated to New Zealand, where he entered the service of the Union Bank of Australia and remained for a number of years. Returning to Scotland, Mr. Begg started as a stock-broker in Edinburgh, and became chairman of the Stock Exchange in that city. Subsequently he joined the London Stock Exchange, and is head of the firm of Faithfull Begg & Co. He married in 1873 Miss Jessie M. Cargill, of Dunedin, N.Z. In July 1892 he unsuccessfully contested Kennington for a seat in the House of Commons in the Conservative interest. Mr. Begg has been one of the foremost advocates of imperial federation.