Charles Joseph Semon (1812–1877), was born in Danzig, Free City in 1812 of

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

descent. He came to

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, England in the middle of the 19th century and soon built up one of the most important textile export houses in the town. His expertise was not only running a successful textile export business but also as a leading light in Bradford's municipal affairs, charities and education.

Chamber of Commerce

Semon was an active member of the

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

from its foundation and was Vice President in 1871. It was on his initiative that the Chamber of Commerce made representations to the Government of the day for the conclusion of a commercial treaty with

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

which brought great benefit to the textile industry of the town and to Romania.

Mayor

Semon was the first foreign as well as the first

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Mayor of

, elected in 1864, he served until John Venimore Godwin took over the following year. Semon also served with distinction on the municipal council for a number of years. He was made Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

Philanthropy

Charles Semon, a major philanthropist, paid for and built a convalescent home in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

on the

Yorkshire Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of i ...

in 1874. He handed it over to

Corporation in 1876 with an endowment for its upkeep. Charles Joseph Semon died in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1877. He was buried in Bradford. In his will he bequeathed £35,000 for the benefit of educational institutions in

References

External links

* Bradford's Anglo Jewish Histor

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semon, Charles 1812 births 1877 deaths Businesspeople from Gdańsk Textile arts of England People from West Prussia Mayors of Bradford Businesspeople from Bradford 19th-century English businesspeople