![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Freddie_Mercury_performing_in_New_Haven%2C_CT%2C_November_1977.jpg/220px-Freddie_Mercury_performing_in_New_Haven%2C_CT%2C_November_1977.jpg)
This is: a dynamic list and may never be, ableββto satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by, adding missing items with reliable sources.
This is a list of notable Parsis. The Parsis constitute one of the Zoroastrian communities of the Indian subcontinent and abroad that originated from the groups of people from Persia who sought refuge from religious persecution through migrationββto other countries after the Arab/Islamic conquest of Persia; the other later Iranian Zoroastrian migrants are Irani.
In science and industryβ»
- Aban Pestonjee: Sri Lankan entrepreneur
- Adi Bulsara (born 1952): physicist
- Adi Kanga (1923β2013): Indian Civil engineer, "planned city of Navi Mumbai." And Vashi bridge
- Ardaseer Cursetjee (1808β1877) of the Wadia shipbuilding family: first Indian elected Fellow of the Royal Society
- Ardeshir Darabshaw Shroff (1899β1965): Indian economist; delegate at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference; co-author of the Bombay Plan; founder-director of the Investment Corporation of India; first Indian chairman of the Bank of India
- Ardeshir Godrej (1868β1936): Indian inventor; co-founder (with his brother Piroj) of the Godrej industries which does not include Godrej & Boyce. His son now runs Godrej Properties, an aggregator model based real estate development firm.
- Avabai Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy (born c. 1793) Lady: continued her husband Sir Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy philanthropic work; builder of Mahim Causeway, connects two islands of Bombay and Salsette (north Bombay)
- Byram Dinshawji Avari (1942-2023): Pakistan hotelier; founder and chairman of the Avari Group of companies
- Dinshaw Patel (b. 1942): Professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering; member of the National Academy of Sciences
- Zubin Damania (born 1973), physician, "comedian," internet personality, musician, and founder of Turntable Health
- Byramjee Jeejeebhoy (1822β1890) Esq., CSI: Indian philanthropist and "founder of B."J. Medical College, Pune
- Cowasjee Jehangir, Sir (1879β1962): Indian civil engineer; master constructor of Bombay
- Cowasji Shavaksha Dinshaw (Adenwalla) (1827β1900): Indian entrepreneur
- Cowasji Jehangir Readymoney Sir, (1812β1878): 1st Baronet, philanthropist, including various academic buildings of the Bombay University
- Cyrus Chothia (1942β2019): molecular biologist
- Cyrus Pallonji Mistry (1968-2022): former chairman of Tata Group; Irish businessman
- Cyrus Poonawalla (born 1945): Indian Industrialist, pharmacologist; co-founder of the Serum Institute of India
- Dhunjibhoy Bomanji, Sir (1862β1937): Indian Shipping Magnate, philanthropist
- Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, Sir (1823β1901): founded the first textile factories in India
- Dorabji Tata, Sir (1859β1932): Indian industrialist and philanthropist, Sir Dorab Tata Trust
- Fardunjee Marzban (1787β1847): publisher, founded the first vernacular newspaper on the Indian subcontinent Bombay Samachar
- Feroze Gandhi (1912β1960): publisher of The National Herald and The Navjivan newspapers and husband of Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India
- Framji Cowasji Banaji, Esq (1767 β 12 February 1851): merchant, philanthropist, lease holder of Powai
- Homi Jehangir Bhabha (1909β1966): nuclear scientist and first chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission
- Homi Maneck Mehta, Sir (1871β1948): industrialist in textiles, insurance, banking, chemicals & sugar. Represented India at League of Nations, Chairman of Bombay War Gift Fund and President of Victory Thanksgiving Fund.
- Homi Nusserwanji Sethna (1923β2010): Padma Vibhushan awardee, chemical engineer; guided the development of India's first nuclear explosive device
- Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody (1838β1911): financier and industrialist in Hong Kong. He contributed $150,000 to help establish the University of Hong Kong.
- Sir Temulji Bhicaji Nariman (1848β1940): obstetrician. Co-founded one of Bombay's first Lying-in hospitals in 1887 and was knighted in 1914 for his work during the "plague epidemic in India at the turn of the 19th century."
- Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (J. R. D.) Tata (1904β1993): industrialist; founder of Air India, India's first commercial airline
- Jamsetji Jeejeebhoy, Sir (1783β1859): opened sea trade with China; philanthropist, J J Hospital
- Jamsetji Tata (1839β1904): industrialist; founder of the Tata Group of companies, titled a "One-Man Planning Commission" by Jawaharlal Nehru
- Jehangir Ghandy, Sir (1896β1972): built Tata Steel in Jamshedpur
- Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee (1880β1960): industrialist; founded Hong Kong's first brewery; established the first anti-tuberculosis sanatorium in the Andajat
- Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia (1702β1774): shipwright and naval architect; builder of the first dry-dock in Asia
- Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw (18??β1924?): industrialist and philanthropist; NED Engineering College
- Nariman Mehta (1920β2014): organic chemist and inventor of bupropion, the most commonly used antidepressant drug
- Nergis Mavalvala (born 1968): astrophysicist and professor at MIT
- Neville Wadia (1911β1996): businessman and son-in-law of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Nusli Wadia (born 1944): chairman of the Wadia Group
- Ness Wadia (born 1972): joint-managing director of Bombay Dyeing
- Noshir Gowadia (born 1944): aircraft engineer and convicted spy
- Nowroji Saklatwala (1875β1938): Chairman of Tata group of companies from 1932 until his death by heart attack in 1938
- Pallonji Mistry (1929-2022): construction tycoon
- Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej (1882β1972): entrepreneur; co-founder (with his brother Ardeshir) of the Godrej industrial empire
- Ratan Tata (born 1937): chairman emeritus of Tata Sons; former chairman of the Tata Group of companies; member of the central board of the Reserve Bank of India
- Russi Mody (1918β2014): former Chairman and Managing Director of Tata Steel Limited; son of Sir Homi Mody and brother of Piloo Mody
- Rustom Jal Vakil (1911β1974): cardiologist
- Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (1856β1926): a noted chairperson of Tata Group and Tata Sons; father of J. R. D. Tata
- Sir Sorabji Nusserwanji Pochkhanawala (1881β1937): banker, co-founder of the Central Bank of India
- Shiraz Minwalla (born 1972): theoretical physicist, String theorist
- Spenta R. Wadia (born 1950): theoretical physicist
- Ratanji Tata (1871β1918), Sir: younger son of Jamsetji Tata; industrialist and philanthropist; Sir Ratan Tata Trust
- Villoo Morawala-Patell (born 1955): MD of Avesthagen, Officer of the National Order of Merit holder
In academiaβ»
- Homi K. Bhabha (born 1949): cultural-studies theorist; Professor, Harvard University
- Jamshed Bharucha (born 1956): President, Cooper Union. Formerly, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences at Dartmouth College (first Indian American to serve as the dean of a school at an Ivy League institution)
- Mahzarin Banaji (born 1956): Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
- Noshir Contractor (born 1959): Award-winning Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Communication and Management at Northwestern University
- Rusi Taleyarkhan: Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue University
- Rohinton Kamakaka: Professor of Molecular Cell Developmental biology at University of California, Santa Cruz
- Thrity Umrigar (born 1961): Armitage Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University
- N. H. Wadia (1925β2016): Prominent neurologist; Director of Neurology at Grant Medical College and Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals for 25 years
- Vistasp Karbhari: President, University of Texas at Arlington
- Homi Kharas: deputy director for the global economy and development program at the Brookings Institution
- Ness B. Shroff: Ohio Eminent Scholar of Networking and Communications. And Chaired Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University
Militaryβ»
- Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw (1914β2008): Former Indian Chief of Army Staff and the first Indian with the rank of Field Marshal
- Lieutenant General FN Billimoria (1933β2005): Former Indian Army officer and head of Wellington Cantonment, father of Indo-British entrepreneur Karan Bilimoria, Lord Bilimoria
- Admiral Jal Cursetji (1919β1991): Former Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy
- Air Marshal Aspy Engineer (1912β2002): Former Chief of the Air Staff, Indian Air Force
- Air Marshal Minoo Merwan Engineer (1921β1997): Former Indian Air Force AOC-in-Chief of Eastern and Western Air Commands
- Vice Admiral Rustom K. S. Ghandhi (1924β2014): Indian Navy Commander-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and former Aide-de-camp to Governor-General of India Lord Louis Mountbatten
- Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara (1877β1941): First Indian Deputy Commissioner of the Mumbai Police
- Lieutenant General Adi M. Sethna (died 2006): Former Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Indian Army
- J. P. B. Jeejeebhoy (1891β1950), first Indian pilot in the Royal Flying Corps
- Lieutenant Colonel Ardeshir Tarapore (1923β1965):, Indian Army officer and commanding officer of the Poona Horse, winner of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest award for gallantry
- Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major (born 1947): Former Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force
- Major General Cyrus Addie Pithawalla (born 1957): Recipient of the Ashoka Chakra
In entertainment, religion, sportsβ»
- Aban Marker Kabraji (born 1953): Pakistani ecologist, Asian regional director of IUCN
- Amyra Dastur (born 1993): model, film actress, television presenter
- Alaya Furniturewala (born 1998): model and film actresses
- Aneela Mirza,/Anila Mirza (born 8 October 1974), Danish singer who has found success as a member of the pop group Toy-Box and as a solo artist under the name of Aneela
- Ardeshir Cowasjee (1926β2012): investigative journalist and newspaper columnist
- Bapsi Sidhwa (born 1938): author and screenwriter; vocal proponent of women's rights
- Behram "Busybee" Contractor (1930β2001): journalist and columnist
- Behramji Malabari (1853β1912): poet, publicist, author, and social reformer
- Bejan Daruwalla (1931-2020): astrologer
- Burjor Khurshedji Karanjia (1919β2012): Indian film journalist and editor, chairman NFDC
- Cyrus Broacha (born 1971): MTV India VJ and stand-up comedian
- Cyrus Poncha (born 1976): Asian Squash Federation Junior Coach of the Year 2003β04
- Deena M. Mistri (1924β2011): author and educationalist; recipient of Pakistan's "Pride of Performance" medal
- Diana Eduljee (born 1956): first captain of the Indian women's Cricket team β from 1978 till 1993
- Diana Penty (born 1985): actress and model
- Dinyar Contractor: Parsi stage actor, Comedian and Bollywood actor
- Dolly Nazir (born 1935): swimmer
- Erick Avari (born 1952): Hollywood actor.
- Farokh Engineer (born 1938): cricketer.
- Farrukh Dhondy (born 1944): novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, journalist.
- Firdaus Kanga (born 1960): author, actor and screenwriter.
- Freddie Mercury (Farrokh Bulsara, 1946β1991): rock icon and lead singer for Queen.
- Fredoon Kabraji (1897β1986): poet, writer, journalist, and artist writing in English.
- Gary Lawyer (born 1959): singer-songwriter
- Godrej Sidhwa (1925-2011): theologian and historian.
- Goshpi Avari (born 19??): first Pakistani woman to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.
- Homai Vyarawalla (1913β2012): India's first woman photojournalist, Padma Vibhushan.
- Homi Adajania (born 1972): Film Director, Writer and Scuba Diving Instructor
- Jamshedji Sorab Kukadaru (1831-1900): priest and ascetic
- Jehan Daruvala (born 1998): Indian racing driver.
- Jim Sarbh (born 1987): actor on film, stage and television.
- Jivanji Jamshedji Modi Sir: Zoroastrian scholar, Ph.D from Heidelberg, Germany, recognition and awards, for scholarship, from Sweden, France, and Hungary.
- John Abraham: Bollywood actor with a Parsi-Christian background
- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (1892β1988): composer, music critic, pianist, and writer.
- Kaizad Gustad (born 1968): film director.
- Karl Umrigar (1960β1979): Indian jockey
- Keki Daruwalla (born 1937): poet and writer
- Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla (1875β1956): high priest and religious scholar.
- Mehli Mehta (1908β2002): musician; founder of the Bombay Philharmonic and Bombay String Orchestras.
- Mehr Jesia (born 1968): Indian model
- Nariman "Nari" Contractor (born 1934): cricketer; coach at the CCI Academy.
- Nauheed Cyrusi (born 1982): model, film actress, television presenter
- Nazneen Contractor (born 1982): film actress
- Nina Wadia (born 1968): British-Indian comedian and television actress, currently and most notably from EastEnders.
- Perizaad Zorabian (born 1973): model, film actress
- Persis Khambatta (1950β1998): actress and model. Miss India in 1965.
- Phiroz Mehta (1902β1994): writer on religious topics and philosopher.
- Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar (1926β2006): cricketer.
- Rachel Viccaji Pakistani singer and musician.
- Rashid Byramji Horse trainer
- Rohinton Mistry (born 1952): novelist, short story author, screenplay writer.
- Rustom Khurshedji Karanjia (1912β2008): journalist & editor, founder of India's first tabloid, Blitz.
- Sanaya Pithawalla (born 1993): actress, TV personality.
- Sam Dastor (born 1941): television actor and director.
- Shapur Kharegat (1932β2000): journalist, editor and director of The Economist (Asia).
- Shiamak Davar (born 1961): Bollywood choreographer
- Sohrab Modi (1897β1984): stage and film actor, director and producer.
- Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957): screenwriter, author and photographer.
- Tara Sutaria (born 1995): actress.
- Varun Toorkey (born 1990): television and film actor.
- Viraf Phiroz Patel (born 1980): The Grasim Mr. India 2005, model turned actor
- Zarin Mehta (born 1938): musician; executive director of the New York Philharmonic since 2000
- Zarnak Sidhwa (born 1972): Pakistani Chef with a TV show on Masala TV.
- Zerbanoo Gifford (born 1950): human rights campaigner
- Zoe Viccaji (born 1983): Pakistani singer and musician
- Zubin Mehta (born 1936): musician; Musical Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, former director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Bavarian State Opera.
- Zubin Surkari (born 1980): Canadian international cricketer.
- Zubin Varla (born 1970): stage actor.
Politicians, activists and bureaucratsβ»
- B. P. Wadia (1881β1958), Indian theosophist and labour activist. Pioneered the creation of workers unions in India.
- Cowasji Jehangir (Readymoney) (1812β1878): J.P.; introduced income tax in India; first baronet of Bombay.
- Frene Ginwala (born 1932): member of the ANC and aided Nelson Mandela in abolishing apartheid in South Africa. Later served for 7 years as Speaker Of the House of Parliament in South Africa
- Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta (1886β1952): former Mayor of Karachi for 12 consecutive years.
- Jamsheed Marker (1922β2018): Pakistani diplomat, ambassador to more countries than any other person; recipient of Hilal-i Imtiaz.
- Justice Dorab Patel (1924β1997): former Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, former Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan and human rights campaigner.
- K. N. Choksy (1933β2015): Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka
- Mancherjee Bhownagree (1851β1933): politician, second Asian to be elected to the House of Commons (Conservative).
- Minocher Bhandara (1937?β2008): Pakistani parliamentarian and owner of Muree Brewery.
- Minoo Masani (1905β1998): author, parliamentarian and a member of the Constituent Assembly.
- Piloo Mody (1926β1983): architect, parliamentarian, one of the founder-members of the Swatantra Party.
- Rustam S. Sidhwa (1927β1997): judge on the Supreme Court of Pakistan as well as one of the original eleven judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
- Sanjay Gandhi (1946β1980): the younger son of Indira Gandhi and Feroz Gandhi, who followed his father's Parsi religion throughout his life.
- Shapurji Saklatvala (1874β1936): socialist, workers' welfare activist, third Asian to be elected to the House of Commons (Communist, Labour).
- Zerbanoo Gifford (born 1950): author and founder of the ASHA Centre made political history being elected as the first non-white woman for the Liberal Party in 1982.
- Kobad Ghandy (born 1951): communist ideologue, affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Maoist), political prisoner from 2009-2019.
Indian independence movementβ»
- Bhikaiji Cama (1861β1936): political activist, co-creator of the Indian nationalist flag.
- Dadabhai Naoroji (1825β1917): economist, political activist, first Asian to be elected to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (Liberal), first to publicly demand independence for India.
- Feroze Gandhi (1912β1960): journalist and politician; Indian MP under his father-in-law Jawaharlal Nehru; husband of Indira Gandhi, father of Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi, and grandfather of Rahul, Priyanka and Varun Gandhi.
- Khurshed Framji Nariman (18??β19??): social activist, Mayor of Bombay. Member of the Indian National Congress.
- Pherozeshah Mehta, Sir (1845β1915): political activist, co-founder and a President of the Indian National Congress, founder of the Bombay Municipal Corporation
Lawβ»
- Cornelia Sorabji (1866β1954): first female graduate of Bombay University, first female to read law at Oxford University and first woman to practice law in India and Britain
- Dinshah Fardunji Mulla (born 1868): Indian author of legal reference books, appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1930, assistant editor of Pollockβs Commentaries on Indian Contract Act
- Mithan Jamshed Lam (1898-1981): First female Indian lawyer to practice law in the Bombay High Court, first female Sheriff of Bombay, and noted women's rights activist.
- Karl Jamshed Khandalavala (1904β1995): the defence lawyer of KM Nanavati in the case of K. M. Nanavati v. State of Maharashtra
- Hormasji Maneckji Seervai (1906β1996): eminent Indian jurist
- Avabai Bomanji Wadia (1913-2005): First female lawyer from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to pass the bar exam and practice law in England, notable social worker, and founder of International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Family Planning Association of India.
- Nanabhoy ("Nani") Palkhivala (1920β2002): prominent jurist and economist
- Fali Sam Nariman (1929-2024): jurist, recipient of the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan
- Soli Jehangir Sorabjee (born 1930-2021): former Attorney-General of India
- T. R. Andhyarujina (1933β2017): senior advocate
- Sam Piroj Bharucha (born 1937): 30th Chief Justice of India
- S. H. Kapadia (1947β2016): 38th Chief Justice of India
- Rohinton Fali Nariman (born 1956): Judge, Supreme Court of India; Delhi University; Harvard University
- Shiavax Jal Vazifdar (born 1956): Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court
- Jamshed Burjor Pardiwala (born 1965): judge of the Supreme Court of India since May 2022. He was part of the majority of the Constitution bench which upheld the 103rd Constitutional amendment of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) reservation, which is considered a major breakthrough.
- Neomi Rao (born 1973): circuit judge of United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, former Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (converted to Judaism)
Othersβ»
- Bhicaji Balsara (1872β1962): Among the first Indians to become a naturalized US Citizen, in 1909
- Bukhtyar Rustomji (1899β1936): Mumbai-born Lancaster doctor executed for murdering his wife and a maid
- Dossabhoy Muncherji Raja (1873β1947): first Indian to be appointed appraiser of precious stones to British Indian customs. Awarded the title of Khan Sahib
- Eduljee Sorabjee (1849-1913): First South Asian to become a naturalized US Citizen, on August 4, 1890 and notable resident of the Los Angeles, California area
- Lady Frainy Dhunjibhoy Bomanji (14 September 1893 β 1986): Lady Harrogate, philanthropist, Honorary Freemanship of the Borough in 1984
- Jimmy Bharucha (died 2005): Sri Lankan broadcaster
- Keiki R. Mehta: ophthalmologist and Padma Shri awardee
- Neville J Bilimoria: businessman and philanthropist
- Rattanbai Petit (1900β1929): second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Goshpi Avari: Asian Games gold-medalist and Pride of Performance honorary
- Jehangir Hormasji Kothari (1857β1934): philanthropist and world traveller.
In artsβ»
- Firoz Dastur: Kirana Gharana vocalist
- Fredoon Kabraji (1897β1986): poet
- Hormazd Narielwalla (born 1979): collage artist and author, based in London
- Jehangir Sabavala (1922β2011): painter
- Karl Keki Singporewala (born 1983): architect & sculptor
- Shirin Darasha (1938β2012): playwright
Fictional charactersβ»
- The Cake "Parsee" (colloquial British spelling of Parsi) in "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin", a chapter in Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. Kipling names him as Pestonjee Bomonjee in the illustration accompanying the story.
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "Angeleno was First South Asian Immigrant to Become a U.S. Citizen". www.laalmanac.com.
- ^ Kumar, Anu (November 15, 2019). "The Curious Case of the 'First' Indian-American Citizen". PeepulTree.
- ^ Kipling, Rudyard (1942). "How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin". Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2022 – via Lit2Go.