| Sassoon David Sassoon | |
| Birth Date: | 1832 |
| Birth Place: | Bombay, India |
| Death Date: | 1867 |
| Death Place: | Langham Hotel, London, UK |
| Resting Place: | Jewish Cemetery, Mile End |
| Occupation: | Businessman, banker, philanthropist |
| Spouse: | Flora (Fahra) Reuben |
| Parents: | David Sassoon Farha Hayim or Hyeem |
| Relatives: | Sassoon family |
Sassoon David Sassoon (August 1832 - 24 June 1867) was a British Indian Iraqi businessman, banker, and philanthropist.
Sassoon was born in August 1832 in Bombay, India.[1] [2] He was a member of the Sassoon family. His father was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a leading trader of cotton and opium who served as the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829, and his mother was Farha Hayim of Baghdad.[1] He suffered from poor health from infancy but travelled widely.[3]
He was educated in biblical and Talmudic lore in Baghdad.[2] He also spoke several Oriental languages with great fluency.[2]
He proceeded to Shanghai, where he conducted the mercantile operations of the Chinese branch of the firm of David Sassoon, Sons & Co.[2] He went to London in 1858, where he opened a bank on Leadenhall Street.[1] [2] The business grew exponentially during the American Civil War, as they suddenly became the main suppliers of cotton to British spinning mills and the British market.[1]
He served as president of a committee which had for its object the organization of an expedition to the Jews in China, Abyssinia, and the East. He was also a member of the council of Jews' College and of the committee of the Jews' Free School, which two institutions he munificently endowed.[1] He was also a warden of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.[1] For several years, he acted as examiner in Hebrew to the Jews' Free School.
At the age of 18, he married a cousin Farha Reuben (1838 - 1919) of Mumbai, daughter of Solomon Reuben Sassoon of Baghdad.[1] She later changed her name to Flora in England. They had four children giving rise to his grandchildren as follows:
They lived at Ashley Park in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey and equally at 17 Cumberland Terrace next to Regent's Park in St Pancras, London.[1] He died in 1867 in London, leaving an estate of £120,000 .[1] Later, Flora moved to 37 Adelaide Crescent in Hove, East Sussex.[4]