Sir Catchick Paul Chater (; ; 8 September 1846 – 27 May 1926) was a prominent British businessman of Armenian descent in colonial Hong Kong, whose family roots were in Calcutta, India. Biography Early life Chater was born Khachik Pogose Astwachatoor () in Calcutta, British India, one of thirteen offspring of Armenian parents Miriam and Chater Paul Chater. His father was a member of the Indian civil service. Chater was orphaned at the age of seven, and he gained entry into the La Martiniere College in Calcutta on a scholarship. In 1864, he moved to Hong Kong from Calcutta and lived with the family of his sister Anna and sister's husband, Armenian Jordan Paul Jordan. Career In the early days in Hong Kong, he was an assistant at the Bank of Hindustan, China and Japan. Later, with the aid of the Sassoon family, he set up business as an exchange broker, resigned from the bank, and traded gold bullion and land on his own account. He took sea-bed soundings at night in a sampan and was thus instrumental in plotting the reclamation of Victoria Harbour. He is credited with a pivotal role in the colonial government's success in acquiring lands then held by the military, at a cost of two million pounds sterling. In 1868, he and Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody formed brokerage company Chater & Mody, a largely successful business partnership in Hong Kong, although the firm's Hong Kong Milling Company (aka Rennie's Mill) failed in 1908 and resulted in the suicide of Albert Rennie. In 1886, he helped Patrick Manson establish Dairy Farm, and he entered the Legislative Council that same year, taking the place of F.D. Sassoon. Also in 1886 Chater established Kowloon Wharf and Godown, predecessor of The Wharf (Holdings). In 1889, he established Hongkong Land with James Johnstone Keswick. Hong Kong Land commenced the land reclamation project under the Praya Reclamation Scheme in 1890. Persuaded by the suggestion of temporary councillor Bendyshe Layton that Hong Kong should have electricity, they secretly acquired an old graveyard in Wan Chai, where they built one of the earliest power stations in the world. In 1890, the Hongkong Electric Company went into production. Chater was enthusiastic in two sports: He played for the Hong Kong Cricket Club 1st XI, and was a thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. He reportedly never missed the weekly races at the Happy Valley Racecourse in