Alexander Malcolm Jacob (1849 in Izmir, Turkey – 1921) was a diamond and gemstone trader in

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

, India. Probably a Jacobite Christian, his grandfather was an engineer in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, and his father was the first soap manufacturer in the

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) ...

Life

At the age of ten, Jacob was sold as a slave to a

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

, who educated him. He acquired knowledge of Eastern life, language, art, literature, philosophy, and

occultism The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism an ...

. After his master's death, Jacob performed the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

at the age of 21, indicating that he was then a Muslim. Jacob moved to Bombay, India, where he worked as a clerk based on his knowledge of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. Later, he moved to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, where he worked for Ami-ul-Kabir, father of Sir Kharsheedjah Bahadur; from there, he moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, where he worked for the jewellers Charles Nephew and Co. He then worked for the

Nawab of Rampur Rampur State was a 15 gun-salute princely state of British India. It came into existence on 7 October 1774 as a result of a treaty with Oudh. Following independence in 1947, Rampur State and other princely states of the area, such as Bena ...

and Dholpur for a short time. Jacob arrived in

in the 1870s and founded a business trading precious gemstones and curios. The success of the business allowed him to build and maintain a luxury home, known as Belvedere, in Simla. The quality of his work resulted in a clientele composed of some of the wealthiest and most influential people in India. The ''Pioneer'' found him 'endowed by nature with a wonderful handsome face and form' and there was about him a 'compelling magnetism, a power and mystery which led to his being sought for conversation and advice by

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

and princes'. Reports indicate he was celibate, a vegetarian, a

teetotaller Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or is ...

, and a non-smoker.

Jacob diamond

He is best known for having sold the Jacob Diamond, which is the seventh largest diamond known in the world (previously known as the Victoria Diamond, Imperial Diamond, or Great White Diamond). It was owned by the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

and is currently owned by the Government of India. The sale of the Jacob Diamond to

Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911) was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in India between 1869 and 1911. Early life Mahboo ...

, Nizam of Hyderabad, considered to be one of the richest men in the world, ruined Jacob. He was brought to trial on charges of fraud, and was acquitted only after a long trial at the Calcutta High Court. Jacob was unable to obtain the money due to him, as the court had no jurisdiction over the Indian States. Nor was there any mechanism to get the diamond back. The controversy over the sale cost Jacob his customers. Legal expenses and the default of other princes bankrupted him, who left Simla for Bombay in late 1901. Jacob lost his eyesight, and after fourteen years of blindness was cured by the charity of a surgeon friend. His last years were spent in a modest room at Watson's Annexe, a property facing the Bombay Yacht Club. Jacob's last words (to Alice Dracott) were "Give my love to Simla". He died in 1921 and his obituary notice in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' of 21 January 1921 states Jacob "claimed to be a Turk ... born near Constantinople".

Popular culture

American author

F. Marion Crawford Francis Marion Crawford (August 2, 1854 – April 9, 1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels, especially those set in Italy, and for his classic weird and fantastical stories. Early life Crawford was born in Bagni di Lucca, in th ...

wrote the novel ''Mr. Isaacs'' about him in 1882. The character Lurgan Sahib of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's novel ''

Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

'' was also based on Jacob. A biography by John Zubrzycki, ''The Mysterious Mr Jacob: diamond merchant, magician and spy'' [], was published in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob, Alexander 1849 births 1921 deaths Businesspeople from Himachal Pradesh Indian merchants Indian Muslims Indian people of Turkish descent Indian slaves People from Kolkata People from İzmir People from Mumbai People from Shimla