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 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 emigr ...

, he was born on 20 June 1856 in

Bombay, India 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- ...

. He was the son of Hannah Moise and Albert Abdullah David Sassoon (1818–1896). He graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He served as a major in the Middlesex Yeomanry (Duke of Cambridge's Hussars).

Career

He was elected as the Liberal Unionist Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Hythe in March 1899. Active in

Jew 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""T ...

ish community affairs, he served as a vice-president of Jews' College, London and the Anglo-Jewish Association. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1896 on the death of his father.

Wireless telegraphy bill

On 13 July 1910, Sassoon proposed a bill in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

that would make installation of

wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

on passenger ships compulsory. Opposition to the bill was led by

Thomas Gibson Bowles Thomas Gibson Bowles (15 January 1842 – 12 January 1922), known generally as Tommy Bowles, was an English publisher and parliamentarian. He founded the magazines '' The Lady'' and the English ''Vanity Fair'', and became a Member of Parliame ...

, who argued that the expense involved for shipping lines would make them less competitive and the bill failed. It would take the sinking of the ''Titanic'' two years later and the resulting 1914 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea to make Sassoon's proposal a reality.

Personal life

In 1887, he married Aline Caroline de Rothschild (1867–1909), daughter of Baron Gustave de Rothschild and

Cécile Anspach Cécile or Cecile is a female given name or surname. People Given name * Ce'cile (Cecile Charlton, born 1976), Jamaican musician * Severin Cecile Abega (1955–2008), Cameroonian author * Cécile Aubry (1928–2010), retired French film actress a ...

from Paris. They had two children: * Philip Albert Gustave David (1888–1939). * Sybil Rachel Bettie Cécile, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (1894–1989). He died in 1912 at the age of fifty-five. His body was placed in a mausoleum in an Indian style, behind his house at Eastern Terrace, Brighton. 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 ...

had been built in 1876 by his father as a family resting place. However, there were no more burials after 1933, when it was emptied and sold, becoming first a furniture store, then a decorator's, next a restaurant and finally the ballroom of the ''Hanbury Arms''

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

. In 2006, the building was again sold to be converted to a private members' club. His great-great-grandson is actor Jack Huston.

References

External links

*
Sir Edward Sassoon in the Jewish Encyclopedia
1856 births 1912 deaths Alumni of the University of London London School of Jewish Studies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British Jews British people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Edward UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Jewish British politicians Burials at Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden British politicians of Iraqi descent 19th-century British businesspeople British people of Indian-Jewish descent British India emigrants to the United Kingdom Baghdadi Jews British politicians of Indian descent British businesspeople of Indian descent {{England-UK-MP-stub