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 Baghdadi Jews (; ) or Iraqi Jews are historic terms for the former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the In ...

who lived in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

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 good ...

-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 founding 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 1885 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 Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

). But the company also dealt in Indian

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

and held the Hong Kong agency for the "South British Insurance Company" (now part of

IAG New Zealand IAG New Zealand (IAG NZ) is the New Zealand subsidiary of Insurance Australia Group. It is the largest general insurance company in New Zealand, just as its parent is the largest in Australia. It has a number of insurance brands it has acquired ...

). 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 The Sheriff of Bombay is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Bombay. The sheriff is an officer of the High Court and the nominal Head of the High Court Department which carries out the or ...

for 1905 and was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

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 official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of India, on the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of British Raj, British India from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Government of India Act 1858 by providing for the addition of six additional members to the Governor General ...

and the

Bombay Municipal Corporation The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is the governing civic body of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra. Salman Khan Is Now Brand Ambassador of BMC from 2016. The BMC is India ...

for twenty years, becoming its president in 1921. He was made KCSI in the

1922 Birthday Honours The 1922 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

. He partly financed the construction of the arch-monument

Gateway of India The Gateway of India is an arch-monument completed in 1924 on the waterfront of Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of George V for his coronation as the Emperor of India in December 1911 at Strand Road near We ...

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) was an Indian Baghdadi Jewish merchant. He was the son of David Sassoon and a member of the Sassoon family. Sassoon earned an immense fortune alongside his family and he was the founder of ...

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 Sassoon Jacob Hai David's 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 Merchants from British India People from Bombay Presidency Jews and Judaism in India Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India Sheriffs of Mumbai 1 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