He was the son of the Thomas Keswick, and younger brother of
William Keswick, who was the founder of the
Keswick family. He arrived in the Far East in 1870 and remained there for 26 years. He became a partner of the Messrs Jardine, Matheson & co. and taipan of the firm from the 1890s. He founded
Hongkong Land together with his close associate Sir
Paul Chater. This was a development company established in 1889 which remained closely associated with Jardine Matheson. Chater and J. J. Keswick became permanent joint managing directors of the new company. He was also appointed as
unofficial member of the
Legislative Council and
Executive Council of Hong Kong, chairman of the
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Hong Kong Fire. ==See also==