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James Marwick (b. 1862 in Edinburgh, Scotland) has been described as a "big man with boundless energy and broad shoulders, who stood over six-foot-six," says Roger White. "My judgment of the Scotsman is that he was a big man in every way, his personality, his stature, and his role as a mover and shaker."

Marwick's father was Sir James D Marwick, an Orcadian who was Town Clerk of Glasgow from 1873 to 1904. The young Marwick qualified as a chartered accountant, but set his sights elsewhere. He began his accounting practice in Glasgow, and quickly jumped at the chance to travel to Australia to conduct a bank examination for a group of Scottish investors during the Australian banking crisis in the 1890s.

Energetic and ambitious, Marwick sailed from Australia to Canada, fully intending to return to the Land Down Under. But after being so impressed with business opportunities in North America and cultivating banking clients, he went to the United States in 1894 and began looking for a partner.

According to White, Marwick and Roger Mitchell, schoolmates from the University of Glasgow, literally ran into each other on a New York City street in 1897. Mitchell had been sent to the United States to run the family textile business. The two set up a practice together in what has been labeled the perfect "front office/back office partnership."

After opening Marwick, Mitchell & Company in New York, Marwick began traveling to other cities, opening offices all over the United States. Percy Garrett, who ran the London office, once wrote that the tireless Marwick traveled as many as 15,000 miles a year.

Later on, in 1911, Marwick and Mitchell joined with Sir William Barclay Peat as Marwick, Mitchell, Peat & Company. Eight years later, they demerged. Marwick retired in 1917, handing the reins to Mitchell, who took over as senior partner and stayed on until 1925. That same year, Mitchell and Peat re-united and changed the firm name to Peat, Marwick & Mitchell.

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