He was born on 9 April 1826, in Maryton, near
Montrose, to James Cargill and his wife, Helen Thomson. Cargill briefly worked in
Glasgow at the offices of the East India merchants William Milne & Co for whom, in 1844, he set sail for Ceylon to establish a branch of the company there. He became a local partner in Colombo in 1850. In 1861, Cargill returned to Glasgow to acquire the whole business which carried on an extensive trade with India as well as Ceylon. He remained chairman of Cargills in Ceylon until his death in 1904. In 1872, he became a director of the Glasgow-based Rangoon Oil Company engaged in marketing oil products. Four years later he bought it outright and invested further funds but it was up against the monopoly of the Kingdom of
Upper Burma which controlled oil exploration. It was in 1886 that Cargill obtained exploration rights, as well as improving refining methods in Rangoon, and he founded
Burmah Oil Ltd that year. David Sime Cargill greatly expanded business, eventually supplying 100% of Burma's oil and by-product requirements and 13% of India's kerosene requirements. He continued as chairman until his death in 1904 at home in Carruth,
Bridge of Weir. ==Family==