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 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 ...

, he was born on 20 June 1856 in

Bombay, India Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12.5& ...

. He was the son of Hannah Moise and

Albert Abdullah David Sassoon 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, Ottoman Empire, into the Sassoon family o ...

(1818–1896). He graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

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

Career

He was elected as the

Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada England *The ...

in March 1899. Active in

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

that would make installation of

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

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

Thomas Gibson Bowles Thomas Gibson Bowles (15 January 1841 – 12 January 1922) was a British politician and publisher. He founded the magazines '' The Lady'' and '' Vanity Fair'', and became a Member of Parliament in 1892. He was also the maternal grandfather o ...

, 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 The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty which sets out minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organiza ...

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 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 ...

. The Sassoon Mausoleum 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 in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

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

Jack Huston Jack Alexander Huston (born 7 December 1982) is an English actor and director. He is best known for his role as Richard Harrow in the HBO television drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film ''American ...

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 British people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies

102 102 may refer to: *102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

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 19th-century British businesspeople British people of Indian-Jewish descent Emigrants from British India to the United Kingdom Baghdadi Jews British businesspeople of Indian descent {{UK-business-bio-1850s-stub