Sassoon David Sassoon

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Sassoon David Sassoon
Jewish Cemetery, Mile End
NationalityBritish, Indian
Occupation(s)Businessman, banker, philanthropist
SpouseFlora (Fahra) Reuben
Parent(s)David Sassoon
Farha Hayim or Hyeem
RelativesSassoon family

Sassoon David Sassoon (August 1832 – 24 June 1867) was a British Indian businessman, banker, and philanthropist.

Biography

Early life

Sassoon was born in August 1832 in

Bombay, India.[1][2] He was a member of the Sassoon family. His father was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a leading trader of cotton and opium who served as the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829, and his mother was Farha Hayim of Baghdad.[1] He suffered from poor health from infancy but travelled widely.[3]

He was educated in biblical and

Oriental languages with great fluency.[2]

Business career

He proceeded to

David Sassoon, Sons & Co.[2] He went to London in 1858, where he opened a bank on Leadenhall Street.[1][2] The business grew exponentially during the American Civil War, as they suddenly became the main suppliers of cotton to British spinning mills and the British market.[1]

Philanthropy

He served as President of a committee which had for its object the organization of an expedition to the

Jews' Free School, which two institutions he munificently endowed.[1] He was also a warden of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.[1] For several years, he acted as examiner in Hebrew to the Jews' Free School.[citation needed
]

Personal life

At the age of 18, he married a cousin Farha Reuben (1838–1919) of Mumbai, daughter of Solomon Reuben Sassoon of Baghdad.[1] She later changed her name to Flora in England. They had four children giving rise to his grandchildren as follows:

  • Joseph Sassoon Sassoon (1855–1918; married Louise de Gunzburg, a daughter of Horace Günzburg
    • Sassoon Joseph Sassoon (1885-1922), army officer
    • Arthur Meyer Sassoon, army officer
    • Frederick Sassoon, army officer
    • 4 other grandchildren
  • Rachel Sassoon (later Beer), editor, (1858–1927; married Frederick Arthur Beer, son of Julius Beer).[1]
  • Alfred Ezra Sassoon (1861–1895; married Theresa Thornycroft
    • Michael Thorneycroft Sassoon (1884-1969)
    • Siegfried Sassoon
    • Hamo Watts Sassoon, army officer, (1887 - killed 1 Nov 1915)
  • Frederick Meyer Sassoon (1862–1889)
    • two granddaughters

They lived at Ashley Park in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey and equally at 17 Cumberland Terrace next to Regent's Park in St Pancras, London.[1] He died in 1867 in London, leaving an estate of £120,000 (equivalent to £11,300,000 in 2021).[1] Later, Flora moved to 37 Adelaide Crescent in Hove, East Sussex.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j William D. Rubinstein, The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 865 [1]
  2. ^ a b c d e Jewish Encyclopedia
  3. ^ Gentleman's Magazine, London, Obituary: 24 June 1867
  4. ^ National Anglo-Jewish Heritage Trail: Brighton & Hove

Further reading

  • Carlyle, Edward Irving (1897). "Sassoon, Albert Abdullah David" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 50. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  • Sassoon, Joseph (2022). The Global Merchants: The Enterprise and Extravagance of the Sassoon Dynasty. Allen Lane.
    ISBN 978-0-241-38864-8
    .
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