Sassoon David Sassoon | |
|---|---|
 David Sassoon (seated) and sons. Sassoon David Sassoon is on the right | |
| Born | 1832 |
| Died | 1867 |
| Resting place | Jewish Cemetery, Mile End |
| Nationality | British, Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, banker, philanthropist |
| Spouse | Flora (Fahra) Reuben |
| Parent(s) | David Sassoon Farha Hayim or Hyeem |
| Relatives | Sassoon 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 Talmudic lore in Baghdad.[2] He also spoke several Oriental languages with great fluency.[2]
Business career
He proceeded to Shanghai, where he conducted the mercantile operations of the Chinese branch of the firm of 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 in China, Abyssinia, and the East. He was also a member of the council of Jews' College and of the committee of 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.
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
Further reading
- Carlyle, Edward Irving (1897). . 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.