Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, (25 July 181824 October 1896) was a Baghdad-born businessman and philanthropist.
Biography
Life and career
Sassoon was born on 25 July 1818 in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
,
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, into the
Sassoon family
The Sassoon family, known as "Rothschilds of the East" due to the immense wealth they accumulated in finance and trade, are a family of Baghdadi Jewish descent. Originally based in Baghdad, Iraq, they later moved to Bombay, India, and then emig ...
of
Baghdadi Jew
The former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East are traditionally called Baghdadi Jews or Iraqi Jews. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the Indian ...
s. His father was
David Sassoon (1792–1864). He was educated in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. After his father's death, he served as head of his family's merchant company 'David Sassoon & Sons' (later '
David Sassoon & Co.').
Sassoon's ancestry family tree goes back to
Sason
Sason ( hy, Սասուն, translit=Sasun, ku, Qabilcewz, ar, قبل جوز; formerly known as Sasun or Sassoun) is a district and town in the Batman Province of Turkey. It was formerly part of the sanjak of Siirt, which was in Diyarbakır vi ...
town in
Northern Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () refers to the southeastern part of Turkey, where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of t ...
.
In 1874, under Albert Sassoon's leadership, David Sassoon & Sons established in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(now Mumbai) a new subsidiary, the 'Sassoon Spinning and Weaving Company', which opened several
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
s there. In 1875 the company built the
Sassoon Docks
Sassoon Docks, built in 1875, is one of the oldest docks in Mumbai and was the first wet dock constructed in Bombay. It is one of the few docks in the city open to the public. It is situated in Mumbai harbor in South Mumbai area of Colaba. It ...
, the first
wet dock
Wet may refer to:
* Moisture, the condition of containing liquid or being covered or saturated in liquid
* Wetting (or wetness), a measure of how well a liquid sticks to a solid rather than forming a sphere on the surface
Wet or WET may also refe ...
s in Bombay. The company was also instrumental in the founding of the
Imperial Bank of Persia
The Imperial Bank of Persia ( fa, بانک شاهنشاهی ایران, Bank-e Šâhanšâhi-ye Irân) was a British bank that operated as the state bank and bank of issue in Iran (formerly known as Persia until 1935) between 1889 and 1929. I ...
in 1889.
After a visit to England in 1873, Albert Sassoon settled there permanently in 1875 to direct 'David Sassoon & Sons' from London. The management of the company's affairs in Bombay was left to his younger brother
Solomon David Sassoon
Solomon David Sassoon (1915–1985) was an educator, Rabbi, philanthropist, fundraiser, and collector of Jewish manuscripts.
Biography
Early life
Solomon David Sassoon was born in August 1915 in London.William D. Rubinstein, ''The Palgrave Dic ...
(1841–1894).
[Joan G. Roland: "The Jewish Communities of India - Identity in Colonial Era", Transaction Publishers, London/ New York 1998, p. 19, ]
Albert Sassoon died in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
in 1896, aged 78, and was buried there in the
Sassoon Mausoleum
The Sassoon Mausoleum is the former grave of Sir Albert Sassoon and other members of his family, including Sir Edward Sassoon, 2nd Baronet, of Kensington Gore. It stands at 83 St. George's Road in Brighton, England. The single-storey building ...
, which he had built. In 1933 his body was removed and reburied in the
Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden
The Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden, is a cemetery for Jews in Pound Lane, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent. It is adjacent to Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery. Established in 1911 by the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, it opened ...
in London. A
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
was also built for him in the
Jewish Cemetery, Chinchpokli
The Jewish Cemetery, Chinchpokli, is a cemetery in Chinchpokli, Bombay, laid out near the Chinchpokli railway station by Elias David Sassoon in 1878.
Covering two acres, the burial ground now contains more than a thousand graves, and new burials c ...
.
[Prashant Kidambi, Manjiri Kamat, Rachel Dwyer, eds. ''Bombay Before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos'' (Oxford University Press, 15 August 2019)]
p. 11
/ref>
Philanthropy and honours
He was a major benefactor to the city of Bombay. Among his gifts was a significant contribution towards the reconstruction of the Elphinstone High School
Elphinstone High School was a school established in 1822 in Bombay, India in honour of Mountstuart Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay (1819–1827). In 1834 the Elphinstone Institute was founded, which started the Elphinstone College
Elphin ...
and the erection of a large equestrian statue of the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
, Albert Edward, commemorating his visit to India in 1875. He also financed many scholarships and became a close adviser to the government on educational and building projects.
Albert Sassoon donated Rs.
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
60,000, while the Government of Bombay Presidency
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
bore the remainder of the cost of Rs. 65,000, for the construction of the David Sassoon Library and Reading Room on Rampart Row, Kala Ghoda
Kala Ghoda (IPA:Kāḷā Ghōḍā,(काला घोडा)') is a crescent-shaped art district in Mumbai, India. It hosts several of the city's heritage buildings including museums, art galleries and educational institutions like the Ch ...
in Bombay. Its construction was completed in 1870, and like many buildings in the vicinity such as Elphinstone College, Army and Navy Buildings and Watson's Hotel, it was built using yellow Malad stone.
The Victoria and Albert Museum, Bombay (now Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum
Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum is the oldest museum in Mumbai. Situated in the vicinity of Byculla Zoo, Byculla East, it was originally established in 1855 as a treasure house of the decorative and industrial arts, and was later renamed in honour of ...
) was built with the patronage of many wealthy Indian businessmen and philanthropists including Albert Sassoon, Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy
Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet Jejeebhoy of Bombay CMG (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian-Parsi merchant and philanthropist. He made a huge fortune in cotton and the opium trade with Ch ...
and Jaganath Shunkerseth
Hon. Jagannath Shankarsheth Murkute (also spelled as Jugonnath Sunkersett, Jugonnath "Nana" Shunkersheth and Jaggannath Shankarsheth Murkute; 10 February 1803 – 31 July 1865) popularly known as Jagannath Shankarsheth was an Indian philanth ...
.
In 1866 Sassoon was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India
The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:
# Knight Grand Commander (GCSI)
# Knight Commander ( KCSI)
# Companion ( CSI)
No appointments ...
(CSI), and in 1872 a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
(KCB). Around the same time he received the Order of the Lion and the Sun
The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...
from the Shah of Persia for "work in Persia and his services in the development of Persian commerce". During his visit to England in 1873 he received the freedom of the City of London
The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom o ...
. After Sassoon had settled in England, a baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
cy was created for him in 1890.
Family
Albert Sassoon married Hannah Meyer Moise (1823–1895) in 1838. They had six children. The eldest son was Edward Sassoon
Sir Edward Albert Sassoon, 2nd Baronet (20 June 1856 – 24 May 1912) was a British businessman and politician.
Early life
A member of the Sassoon family, he was born on 20 June 1856 in Bombay, India. He was the son of Hannah Moise and Albert ...
(1856–1912), the father of Philip Sassoon
Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon, 3rd Baronet, (4 December 1888 – 3 June 1939) was a British politician, art collector, and socialite, entertaining many celebrity guests at his homes, Port Lympne Mansion, Kent, and Trent Park, North Lond ...
(1888–1939) and Sybil Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (1894–1989).
Albert Sassoon's father, David Sassoon (1792–1864), was a leading Baghdad merchant and a treasurer under Ahmet Pasha, the Governor of Baghdad. However, he fled after he was implicated in a corruption scandal, moving from Baghdad to Bushire
Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antioc ...
in Persia, and settled in Bombay in 1832, where he founded a large mercantile business, called "David Sassoon & Sons".
Albert Sassoon's great-great-great-grandson is the actor Jack Huston
Jack Alexander Huston (born 7 December 1982) is a British actor. He appeared as Richard Harrow in the HBO television drama series '' Boardwalk Empire''. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film '' American Hustle'', portrayed the eponym ...
.
References
External links
Sir Albert Sasoon profile
in the ''Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'' by Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore.
Jacobs ...
, Goodman Lipkind, J. Hyams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Albert
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
English Jews
Companions of the Order of the Star of India
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
1818 births
1896 deaths
People from Baghdad
Iraqi Jews
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Burials at Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
Businesspeople from Mumbai
British India emigrants to the United Kingdom
Members of the Bombay Legislative Council
19th-century Indian philanthropists
19th-century British businesspeople
19th-century British philanthropists