| David Francis Kessler | |
| Birth Date: | 6 June 1906 |
| Birth Place: | Pretoria, South Africa |
| Death Place: | Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire, England, U.K. |
| Alma Mater: | Leighton Park School University of Cambridge |
| Occupation: | Publisher, author |
| Spouse: | Matilda Kessler |
| Children: | 1 son, 3 daughters |
| Parents: | Leopold Kessler |
David Francis Kessler, OBE, (6 June 1906 - 24 November 1999) was a British publisher and author. He was the managing director of The Jewish Chronicle.
David Kessler was born on 6 June 1906 in Pretoria, South Africa.[1] [2] [3] His father, Leopold Kessler, was a friend of Theodor Herzl, an early proponent of Zionism, and a shareholder of The Jewish Chronicle.
Kessler was educated at Leighton Park School in Reading before graduating from the University of Cambridge, where he earned a bachelor's degree in law and economics.[1] [2] [3]
Kessler began his career by working for Antonin Besse,[3] an oil and shipping businessman with ties to the Royal Dutch Shell in Aden, Yemen.[1] He subsequently worked for the Palestine Potash Company, later known as the Dead Sea Works, in Jerusalem.[1] [2] [3]
Kessler became the managing director of The Jewish Chronicle in London in 1935.[1] In 1946, he dismissed the editor, Ivan Greenberg, who was deemed too divisive.[1] Instead, he appointed John Maurice Shaftesley, who remained in the post until 1958, when he hired William Frankel.[2]
Kessler wrote two books.[1] He was a founding member of the Minority Rights Group.[1] He served as the chairman of the Falasha Welfare Association and the Wiener Library in London.[1] [2] He became OBE in 1996.[1] [2]
Kessler had a wife, Matilda, a son, and three daughters.[1] They resided in Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire, England, where he died on 24 November 1999.[1] [2]