Aw Boon Haw
| Aw Boon Haw | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Aw Boon-Haw (Who's Who in China 4th ed.,1931) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Native name | 胡文虎 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
1882 Rangoon, British Burma | ||||||||||||||||||
| Died |
1954 (aged 72) Honolulu, Hawaii | ||||||||||||||||||
| Resting place | Tiger Balm Garden, Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Other names | Tiger Balm King | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Board member of | Eng Aun Tong | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Parent(s) | Aw Chu Kin (Father) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives |
Aw Boon Leng (Eldest Brother) Aw Boon Par (Youngest Brother) | ||||||||||||||||||
Aw Boon-Haw (Chinese: 胡文虎; pinyin: Hú Wénhǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ô͘ Bûn-hó͘; 1882 in Rangoon, British Burma – 1954 in Hawaii), OBE, was a Burmese Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for introducing Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian Province, China.
Career
In 1926, Aw migrated to Malaysia, where he began the business of Tiger Red Balm with his brother, Aw Boon-Par. Aw also founded several newspapers, including Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore and Sin Pin Jit Poh in Penang, which are both based in Malaysia today; and Sing Tao Daily, which dates back to 1938 and is currently based in Hong Kong. Aw moved to Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation of Singapore and managed the business from there, while his brother stayed in Singapore until he closed down the factory and went to Rangoon. Aw returned to Singapore after the end of World War II and re-established his business.
Death
In 1954, at the age of 72, while on a trip to Hong Kong from Boston, US, Aw died from a heart attack following a major operation in Honolulu. His legacy is found in the Haw Par Villas throughout Asia, with locations in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Fujian province of China.
Legacy
His sons took over his businesses after Aw's death.
Personal life
Aw's adopted daughter is the Hong Kong businesswoman and former Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member Sally Aw. Sally Aw squandered the vast fortune and was on the brink of bankruptcy. Tiger Balm Gardens and the Aw Boon-Haw Gardens in Hong Kong were sold to the territory's billionaire, Li Ka-Shing, for US$13 million in 1998.
The daughter of Aw Boon-Haw and his fourth wife, Aw Seng (胡星), resides in Singapore and has set up a company under her father's name, Aw Boon Haw Pte Ltd, to continue the heritage and legacy of her father. Aw Boon-Haw's fourth wife died on 10 April 2012 in Vancouver aged 100.
Gallery
A memorial hall in Lei Yue Mun Waterfront School
Aw Boon-Haw & Aw Boon-Par Memorial Hall at the School for the Blind, a Tiger Balm charity in Rangoon, Burma
Haw Par Villa in Fujian, unfinished after 1949 and the death of Aw Boon Haw in 1954; finished by his daughter in 1990s
Former Eng Aun Tong in Singapore
Eng Aun Tong in Guangzhou
Eng Aun Tong advertisement in 1930s
References
- (in Chinese) 胡文虎
- (in Chinese) 胡文虎父女的汕頭緣
- Sin Yee Theng and Nicolai Volland, "Aw Boon Haw, the Tiger from Nanyang: Social Entrepreneurship, Transregional Journalism, and Public Culture," chapter 5 in Christopher Rea and Nicolai Volland, eds. "The Business of Culture: Cultural Entrepreneurs in China and Southeast Asia" (UBC Press, 2015).
External links
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