Sir Sassoon Jacob Hai David, 1st Baronet, (11 December 1849 – 27 November 1926) was an Indian merchant who was a member of the community of

Baghdadi Jews 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 ...

who lived 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-m ...

from the late 19th Century into the 20th Century. He was a

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

-owner and merchant who also became Chairman of the

Bank of India Bank of India (BOI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Founded in 1906, it has been government-owned since nationalisation in 1969. BoI is a founder member of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter ...

Life and career

In 1867 Sir Sassoon Jacob Hai David joined the newly formed firm of his father in law, " E.D. Sassoon & Co.", which traded predominantly in India (Bombay, Karachi) and China (Hong Kong, Shanghai). In 1874 he started in Bombay his own firm, "Sassoon J. David & Co., Ltd.", which developed into a leading cotton merchant and opened branches in China (Hong Kong, Shanghai) and Japan ( Kobe). But the company also dealt in Indian opium and held the Hong Kong agency for the "South British Insurance Company" (now part of IAG New Zealand). As a wealthy businessman, he was the lead promoter of the

, founded in 1906, and became the bank's chairman. He served as Sheriff of Bombay for 1905 and was created a baronet in 1911. He served on the council of the

governor general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

of India, on the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

and the

Bombay Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC; IAST: ), also known as the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. It is India's richest municipal corporation. The BMC ...

for twenty years, becoming its President in 1921. He was made KCSI in the 1922 Birthday Honours. He partly financed the construction of the Gateway of India.

Family

Sir Sassoon Jacob Hai David was the son of Jacob Isaac David, a leading member of the Jewish community who was amongst the first Jews to move to Bombay. He married Hannah Sassoon, the daughter of

Elias David Sassoon Elias David Sassoon (27 March 1820 – 21 March 1880), an Indian merchant and banker born in Baghdad, was the second son of David Sassoon, an Iraqi-Indian philanthropist Jewish businessman involved in trade in India and the Far East, with bran ...

and granddaughter of David Sassoon. His eldest three sons predeceased him and he was therefore succeeded by his surviving son

Sir Percival David, 2nd Baronet Sir Percival Victor David Ezekiel David, 2nd Baronet (21 July 1892 – 9 October 1964) was a Bombay-born British financier who is best known as a scholar and collector of Chinese ceramics. He also formed a collection of Chinese stamps and pos ...

. Sir Sassoon Jacob Hai Davida brother, Abraham Aubrey J David (1854–?), was largely responsible for the successful built up of China business of "Sassoon J. David & Co., Ltd.".Arnold Wright (Editor): "Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China", Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company, London 1908, p.223

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:David, Sassoon Jacob 1849 births 1926 deaths Indian bankers Indian Jews Indian people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Jews and Judaism in India Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India Sheriffs of Mumbai Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Sassoon family Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Baghdadi Jews Indian baronets

Life and career

Family

Arms

See also

References

External links