Edward Pellew Wilson Jr.
Edward Pellew Wilson Jr., Count of Wilson (31 March 1832 – 19 September 1899) was a British-Brazilian businessman born in Salvador, Brazil. He was the eldest son of Edward Pellew Wilson and part of the Wilson family, famous for the shipping firm Wilson & Sons. His godfather was Lord Exmouth. He and his brothers were engineers who developed business interests in Brazil, Portugal and France, and he owned shares in Rio de Janeiro financial companies and French railways. In 1884 he founded the Telephone Company of Bahia.
During the Paraguayan War, his contract with the Imperial Government of Brazil to supply coal to ships earned him the nickname "King of Coal," and he lent his tugboats to the navy. He owned several notable Rio de Janeiro buildings, including the Edifício das Mil Colunas (the Building of the Thousand Columns, now the Maritime Court) and Chácara da Floresta on Morro do Castelo.
Wilson was the founding president of the International Company of Commerce and Industry. He was a shipowner, warehouse owner, and honorary consul of Italy in Pernambuco and Rio. He also built the largest dry dam on Mocanguê island. The Wilson family’s main business remained Wilson & Sons, run by Edward Jr. and his brothers, Alexander and James.
He received several honors: Knight of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1864); Commander of the Order of the Rose (1867); Commander of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (1875); and Commander of the Order of Christ (1878). In 1891, Carlos I of Portugal created him Conde de Wilson (Count of Wilson).
In 1894 he was detained by Floriano Peixoto during the Revolta da Armada and exiled to England for a year. He died at the Hotel das Paineiras in Laranjeiras and was buried at Palacete dos Leões. He and his wife Felisbella "Yayá" Ernestina Cintra née da Silva had six children: Eduardo, Alfred, Carlos, Alice, Amélie "Millie," and Stella.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:31 (CET).