David Sassoon (treasurer)
David Sassoon | |
---|---|
British India | |
Resting place | Ohel David Synagogue Complex, Pune |
Nationality | Indian |
Occupation | Businessman |
Spouses | Hannah Joseph
(m. 1818; died 1826)Farha Hyeem (m. 1828) |
Children | From Hannah Joseph: Albert Sassoon Elias David Sassoon + 2 daughters From Farha Hyeem: Sassoon David Sassoon Arthur Sassoon Reuben David Sassoon Aaron Sassoon Solomon David Sassoon Frederick David Sassoon + 3 Daughters |
Parent(s) | Saleh Sassoon (1750-1830) Amam Gabbai |
David Sassoon (October 1792 – 7 November 1864)[1] was the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829. He became the leader of the Jewish community in Mumbai after Baghdadi Jews emigrated there.
Life and career
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
Sassoon was born in
The family were
Following increasing persecution of Baghdad's Jews by
When the
It was not until the 1860s that the Sassoons were able to lead the Baghdadi Jewish community in overtaking Parsi dominance. A particular opportunity was given by the American Civil War, during which turmoil American cotton exports from the South declined. Lancashire factories replaced American cotton imports with Sassoon's Indian cotton.
Along with Parsi businessmen such as Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, David Sassoon continued the trade with China and from the wealth earned there he started his own business of oil. His first mill was named E.D. Sassoon Mills and he became exceedingly prosperous. Later, the Sassoons were the largest mill owners and were known as Badshah of the business community of Bombay. Overall there were 17 mills, employing in total some 15,000 to 20,000 slaves and workers.[citation needed] Later, Sassoon also entered the cotton, fabrics and various other industries on a large scale. Sassoon, as an Orthodox Jew, continued his Jewish religious observances, observing the Jewish Sabbath throughout his busy life. He was also a member of the Legislative Assembly of the time. He built one of the largest and most beautiful synagogues of India, the Magen David synagogue at Byculla, Bombay. He also built the Ohel David Synagogue of Pune.
Various charity trusts, which continue in existence today, were funded from his private income and named after him and other members of his family. David Sassoon funded monuments and educational institutions in Mumbai. By his enterprise, Sassoon Docks at Colaba in the city were built, much of it with slave labor.
He soon came to live with his family at a palatial home he reconfigured and named Byculla's Bungalow or Sans Souci,[4] the former palace of Shin Sangoo. This was later donated to the Parsi Trust and is today's Masina Hospital. Nearby Rani Bagh (Jijamata Udyann) was also his property and was donated to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation for the construction of the Albert Museum, designed by the most prominent architect of the time. The interior is exactly like the Magen David synagogue and the Ohel David Synagogue of Pune. It has a tall clock tower, the Victoria clock tower.
Legacy
Although David Sassoon did not speak
David Sassoon died in his country house in
Some of the prominent Buildings built by David Sasoon and his family are:
- David Sassoon Library & reading room, Fort Mumbai
- Magen David Synagogue, Byculla, Mumbai
- Jacob Sasooon High School, Byculla, Mumbai
- E.E.E. Sassoon High School, Byculla, Mumbai
- David Sassoon Hospital, JJ HospitalPremises, Byculla, Mumbai
- Masina Hospital, Byculla, Mumbai
- Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue, Colaba, Mumbai
- Sassoon Dock, Colaba, Mumbai
- The Bank of India, Fort (head office), Mumbai
- The David Sassoon Reformary and Deaf school, Matunga, Mumbai
- Ohel David Synagogue, Pune
- Sassoon Hospital, Pune
- Lady Rachel Sassoon Dispensary, Pune
- David Sassoon Elderly and Destitute Persons Home (1863), Pune (today's Nivara Old Age Home)
- Sassoon House
They have contributed to the construction of:
- Gateway of India[6]
- Sassoon Building of Elphinstone Technical High School, Mumbai[6]
- The Institute of Science, Mumbai
- Clock Tower at The Victoria Gardens[7]
- The Victoria and Albert Museum
-
Family tree of the Sassoon family
-
Sassoon Docks, in Mumbai
See also
- Sassoon family
- David Sassoon & Co.
- E.D. Sassoon & Co.
- History of opium in China
References
- ^ Jacobs, Joseph. "SASSOON". Jewish Enccyclopedia. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- DNBgives "Sason ben Saleh".
- ISBN 978-90-04-12114-0. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ^ "The Prince of Wales in India". The Pall Mall Gazette. 19 November 1875. p. 5. Retrieved 31 December 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
The Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Duke of Sutherland, Sir Bartle Frere, Lord Suffield, Major-General Probyn, and Messrs. Henderson, FitzGeorge, and Knollys, landed from the Serapis at three o'clock this afternoon, and was met by Mr. Sourer and an escort of the 3rd Hussars. The Royal party drove to ... He paid a visit to Lady Sassoon, at Sans Souci, and remained a quarter of an hour. The Prince then lunched' and returned to the Serapis
- ^ Shalva Weil, "The Legacy of David Sassoon: Building a Community Bridge", Asian Jewish Life, 14:4-6 (April 2014).
- ^ a b GatewayHouse (7 February 2014). "The story of the Sassoons". Gateway House. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ^ "The Legacy of David Sassoon". ejewishphilanthropy.com. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- Chiara Betta 'Marginal Westerners in Shanghai: the Baghdadi Jewish community, 1845-1931' in Robert Bickers and Christian Henriot New Frontiers: imperialism's new communities in East Asia, 1842-1953 (Manchester University Press 2000: pp. 38–54), p.38ff.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Sassoon family
- Biography from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- Jewish Encyclopedia.com
External links
- Media related to David Sassoon at Wikimedia Commons
- David Sasoon in the Jewish Encyclopedia