Gresson Street was opened around 1909 on Marine Lots 29 and 30, when the lots were redeveloped by
Hongkong Land. The street was named after
William Jardine Gresson (1869–1934), a partner of
Jardine, Matheson & Co. from 1901 to 1910. A noted shootout, the "Siege of Gresson Street", took place here on 22 January 1918, as a gang of armed-robbers were trapped while raiding a tenement at No.6 Gresson Street. Four or five policemen and two robbers were shot dead and an additional robber and six policemen were wounded. The Governor,
Francis May, a former
Captain Superintendent of
Police, personally negotiated with the last remaining gang member, but to no avail. When the young man refused to surrender, the Royal Garrison Artillery was used to "bomb" him out. ==See also==