Sir Albert Abdullah David Sassoon, 1st Baronet, (25 July 181824 October 1896) was a Baghdad-born businessman and philanthropist.

Biography

Life and career

Sassoon was born on 25 July 1818 in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, into the

Sassoon family The Sassoon family were a wealthy Baghdadi Jews, Baghdadi Jews, Jewish family dynasty, associated with finance, banking, capital markets, the exploration of oil and gas, Judaism, British Conservative Party, Conservative politics, opium trade wit ...

of Baghdadi Jews. His father was David Sassoon (1792–1864). He was educated in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. After his father's death, he served as head of his family's merchant company 'David Sassoon & Sons' (later ' David Sassoon & Co.'). Sassoon's ancestry family tree goes back to

Sason Sason is a town in the Batman Province of Turkey. It is the seat of the Sason District.İl ...

town in Southeastern Anatolia Region In 1874, under Albert Sassoon's leadership, David Sassoon & Sons established 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 ...

(now Mumbai) a new subsidiary, the 'Sassoon Spinning and Weaving Company', which opened several

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

s there. In 1875 the company built the

Sassoon Docks Sassoon Docks, built in 1875, is one of the oldest docks in Mumbai and was the first wet dock constructed in Bombay. It is one of the few docks in the city open to the public. It is situated in Mumbai harbour in South Mumbai area of Colaba. It ...

, the first

wet dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

s in Bombay. The company was also instrumental in the founding of the

Imperial Bank of Persia The Imperial Bank of Persia () was a British bank that operated as the central bank and bank of issue in Iran (formerly known as Name of Iran, Persia until 1935) between 1889 and 1929. It was established in 1885 with a concession from the Persian ...

in 1889. After a visit to England in 1873, Albert Sassoon settled there permanently in 1875 to direct 'David Sassoon & Sons' from London. The management of the company's affairs in Bombay was left to his younger brother Solomon David Sassoon (1841–1894).Joan G. Roland: "The Jewish Communities of India - Identity in Colonial Era", Transaction Publishers, London/ New York 1998, p. 19, Albert Sassoon died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in 1896, aged 78, and was buried there in the Sassoon Mausoleum, which he had built. In 1933 his body was removed and reburied in the Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden in London. A

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

was also built for him in the Jewish Cemetery, Chinchpokli.Prashant Kidambi, Manjiri Kamat, Rachel Dwyer, eds. ''Bombay Before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos'' (Oxford University Press, 15 August 2019)
p. 11
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Philanthropy and honours

He was a major benefactor to the city of Bombay. Among his gifts was a significant contribution towards the reconstruction of the Elphinstone High School and the erection of a large equestrian statue of Edward, Prince of Wales, commemorating his visit to India in 1875. He also financed many scholarships and became a close adviser to the government on educational and building projects. Albert Sassoon donated Rs. 60,000, while the Government of Bombay Presidency bore the remainder of the cost of Rs. 65,000, for the construction of the David Sassoon Library and Reading Room on Rampart Row, Kala Ghoda in Bombay. Its construction was completed in 1870, and like many buildings in the vicinity such as Elphinstone College, Army and Navy Buildings and Watson's Hotel, it was built using yellow Malad stone. The Victoria and Albert Museum, Bombay (now Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum) was built with the patronage of many wealthy Indian businessmen and philanthropists including Albert Sassoon, Sir

Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, 1st Baronet, (15 July 1783 – 14 April 1859), also spelt Jeejeebhoy or Jeejebhoy, was an Indian merchant and philanthropist. He made a huge fortune in cotton and the opium trade with China. Early life and business ...

and Jaganath Shunkerseth. In 1866 Sassoon was made a Companion of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander ( GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

(CSI), and in 1872 a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(KCB). Around the same time he received the

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

from the Shah of Persia for "work in Persia and his services in the development of Persian commerce". During his visit to England in 1873 he received the

freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

. After Sassoon had settled in England, 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 ...

cy was created for him in 1890.

Family

Albert Sassoon married Hannah Meyer Moise (1823–1895) in 1838. They had six children. The eldest son was Edward Sassoon (1856–1912), the father of

Philip Sassoon Sir Philip Albert Gustave David Sassoon, 3rd Baronet (4 December 1888 – 3 June 1939) was a British politician and aristocrat. He served as a staff officer during the First World War, from July 1914 to November 1918. Family Sassoon was a member ...

(1888–1939) and

Sybil Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Cholmondeley, Marchioness of Cholmondeley ( , born Sybil Rachel Betty Cecile Sassoon; 30 January 1894 – 26 December 1989), styled Countess of Rocksavage from 1913 to 1923, was a British socialite, patron of the arts ...

(1894–1989). His daughter Aziza Sassoon (1839–1897) married Ezekiel Abraham Gubbay (1824–1896) and was the mother of Flora Sassoon. Albert Sassoon's father, David Sassoon (1792–1864), was a leading Baghdad merchant and a treasurer under Ahmet Pasha, the Governor of Baghdad. However, he fled after he was implicated in a corruption scandal, moving from Baghdad to

Bushire Bushehr (; ) is a port city in the Central District of Bushehr County, Bushehr province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Etymology The roots of the name "Bushehr" are uncertain. It is unlikely that it ...

in Persia, and settled in Bombay in 1832, where he founded a large mercantile business, called "David Sassoon & Sons". Albert Sassoon's great-great-great-grandson is the actor Jack Huston.

References

External links

Sir Albert Sasoon profile
in the ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'' by

Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian-born folklorist, literary critic and historian who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Born in Sydney to a Jewish family, his work went on to popula ...

, Goodman Lipkind, J. Hyams {{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Albert

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

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English Jews Companions of the Order of the Star of India 1818 births 1896 deaths Businesspeople from Baghdad Iraqi Jews Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Burials at Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Founders of Indian schools and colleges Businesspeople from Mumbai Emigrants from British India to the United Kingdom Members of the Bombay Legislative Council Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom Philanthropists from British India 19th-century British businesspeople 19th-century British philanthropists