Arthur Abraham David Sassoon (25 May 1840 – 13 March 1912) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

banker and socialite.

Biography

Early life

Arthur Abraham David Sassoon was born on 25 May 1840. He was the fifth son of David Sassoon (1792–1864), a Jewish trader of cotton and

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

who served as the Treasurer of

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 ...

from 1817 to 1829.Obituary: Mr. Arthur Sassoon.
''

Kalgoorlie Miner ''The Kalgoorlie Miner'' (commonly known as ''The Miner'') is a daily newspaper circulating in the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the Goldfields-Esperance region, in Western Australia. It is published Monday to Saturday by Hocking & Co. Pty L ...

'', 15 March 1912National Portrait Gallery: Arthur Abraham David Sassoon (1840–1912), Fifth son of David Sassoon
/ref> His mother was Farha (Hyeem) Sassoon (1814-1886), a philanthropist. One of his brothers was

Reuben David Sassoon Reuben David Sassoon, MVO (1835–1905) was an English businessman. Biography Early life Reuben David Sassoon was born in 1835. His father was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a Jewish trader of opium and cotton in China who served as the Tre ...

(1835–1905), a banker, and

Sir Edward Sassoon, 2nd Baronet, of Kensington Gore 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 Mumbai, Bombay, India. He was the son of Hannah Moise and ...

was his uncle.

Career

He was an original member of the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Bank, which later became known as

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (), commonly known as HSBC (), was the parent entity of the multinational HSBC banking group until 1991, and is now its Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific subsidiary. The largest bank in Hong K ...

, the Hong Kong subsidiary of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

(; ). For many years he was a director of David Sassoon & Company of

Leadenhall Street __NOTOC__ Leadenhall Street () is a street in the City of London. It is about and links Cornhill, London, Cornhill in the west to Aldgate in the east. It was formerly the start of the A11 road (England), A11 road from London to Norwich, but th ...

, London, a trading company founded by his brother

Personal life

In 1873, he married (Eugenie) Louise Perugia (1854-1943), daughter of Signor Achille Perugia of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, whose sister Marie Perugia (1862–1937) was married to

Leopold de Rothschild Leopold de Rothschild (22 November 1845 – 29 May 1917) was a British banker, thoroughbred race horse breeder, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family. Biography Early life Leopold de Rothschild was the third son and youngest of t ...

(1845–1917).'The Late Leopold de Rothschild'
''

Canadian Jewish Chronicle The ''Canadian Jewish Review'' was a Canadian weekly newspaper, published in English between 1921 and 1966.UncreditedHistory of the ''Canadian Jewish Review''; www.multiculturalcanada.ca. The ''Canadian Jewish Review'' merged with the ''Canadian J ...

'', 22 June 1917 Louise became a leading socialite in London high society, and her work with poor Jewish girls led to her being appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. Her portrait was painted by

George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817, in London – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement. He said "I paint ideas, not things." Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical work ...

(1817–1904) in 1882. It is displayed in

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in ...

. For many years the couple resided in Hove, East Sussex. In 1881 they were recorded as living at 6 Queen's Gardens, part of a sea-facing terrace of seven late-19th-century mansions. (These were damaged by bombs in World War II and demolished in the 1960s; flats called Kingsway Court now occupy the site.) With a staff of 13 servants, cooks and butlers, they were "one of the largest employers of domestic staff in Hove". Sassoon's brother Reuben lived next door at number 7. From 1883 until Arthur Sassoon's death, they lived at 8 King's Gardens, a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

.Marcus Roberts
Brighton & Hove: History
''National Anglo-Jewish Trail'' Sassoon was a personal friend and confidante of King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

(1841–1910).

Jane Ridley Jane Ridley (born 15 May 1953) is an English historian, biographer, author and broadcaster, and Professor of Modern History at the University of Buckingham. Ridley won the Duff Cooper Prize in 2002 for ''The Architect and his Wife'', a biography ...

, ''Bertie: A Life of Edward VII'', Random House, 2012, p. 43

/ref>Adam Trimingham
A grand day out
'' The Argus (Brighton), The Argus'', 1 July 2013Christopher Hibbert, ''Edward VII: The Last Victorian King'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, p. 28

/ref> The King would often stay with him on his visits to

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 ...

, sometimes to visit his mistress

Alice Keppel Alice Frederica Keppel (''née'' Edmonstone; 29 April 1868 – 11 September 1947) was an aristocrat, british society hostess and a long-time mistress of King Edward VII. Keppel grew up at Duntreath Castle, the family seat of the Edmonstone baro ...

(1868–1947). Moreover, Arthur Sassoon would accompany him on day trips to the

Worthing Pier Worthing Pier is a public pleasure pier in Worthing, West Sussex, England. Designed by Sir Robert Rawlinson, it was opened on 12 April 1862 and remains open to the public. The pier originally was a simple promenade deck long and wide. In 1888 t ...

and the gardens of

Beach House Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals). Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to ...

, the private residence of

Sir Edmund Giles Loder, 2nd Baronet Sir Edmund Giles Loder, 2nd Baronet (7 August 1849 – 14 April 1920) was an English aristocrat, landowner and plantsman. Biography Early life Edmund Giles Loder was born on 7 August 1849 in London, England. His father was Sir Robert Loder, 1st B ...

(1849-1920). Another guest was Captain Sir

Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

(1821–1890). Known visits by the King to the Sassoons' house were in 1898, 1907, 1908 and 1910, but other visits are believed to have gone unrecorded. He felt his

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

improved when he visited the Sussex coast, so his visits were not merely social. Edward VII was also an occasional guest of Arthur Sassoon at Tulchan Lodge, Advie, Morayshire, during the shooting season on the Scottish moors. After the King's death in May 1910, Arthur Sassoon paid £100 towards a memorial sculpture. The Peace Statue, also known as the King Edward VII Memorial Statue, was designed by

Newbury Abbot Trent Newbury Abbot Trent (14 October 1885 – 2 August 1953) was an English sculptor and medallist. Trent studied at the Royal College of Art and Royal Academy Schools, where he became an associate. His works include reliefs, statues and other forms ...

and unveiled in 1912 on the seafront at the ancient parish boundary of Brighton and Hove. He died on 13 March 1912 while staying at the

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...

home of

, his brother-in-law. Sassoon's

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

, done by Walker & Boutall in 1897, rests in the National Portrait Gallery in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He is also commemorated by four

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows in the

Middle Street Synagogue, Brighton The Middle Street Synagogue is a synagogue in the centre of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. It was the centre for Jewish worship in Brighton and Hove for more than a century. Although it is not in full-time use, the bu ...

. His fortune, which exceeded £650,000, passed to the children of his brother Reuben. Both Brighton and Hove were closely associated with 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 ...

in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Henry Labouchère Henry Du Pré Labouchère (9 November 1831 – 15 January 1912) was an English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner in the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian eras. He is now most remembered for the Labouchere Amendment, Labouchè ...

once quipped "Brighton is a sea-coast town, three miles long and three yards broad, with a Sassoon at each end and one in the middle". This referred to

Albert Sassoon 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, Ottoman Empire, into the Sassoon family o ...

at the east end, Reuben Sassoon in the middle and Arthur Sassoon at the west end.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Arthur 1840 births 1912 deaths People from Hove English bankers Hong Kong bankers HSBC people Members of the Royal Victorian Order

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

English Jews Edward VII Burials at Golders Green Jewish Cemetery 19th-century English businesspeople English people of Indian-Jewish descent British businesspeople of Indian descent Baghdadi Jews