Sir Eliot Arthur de Pass (16 March 1851 – 11 July 1937) was an English merchant in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. He was the founder of EA de Pass & Co., which specialised in trading sugar and coffee from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Early life and family

De Pass was born in London into a

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

family, the son of Abraham Daniel de Pass, of Norfolk, and his wife, Judith Lazarus, of

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

.''1851 England Census'' The family's original surname,

Shalom ''Shalom'' ( ''šālōm'') is a Hebrew word meaning ''peace'' and can be used idiomatically to mean ''hello'' and ''goodbye''. As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities (especially between a person and God or b ...

, was translated to the Spanish word for "

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

" and became ''Paz''. It was anglicised to Pass upon his ancestors' arrival in England in the 1660s. He was descended from Elias de Paz, who was among the original 12 Jewish brokers admitted to the privileges of the

Royal Exchange, London The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham on the suggestion of his factor (agent), factor Richard Clough to act as a centre of commerce for the City of London. The site was provided by the Ci ...

in 1697.

Education and career

He was educated privately 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 ...

and in Germany before beginning his own career, first as special commissioner and attorney of the

Windsor and Annapolis Railway The Windsor and Annapolis Railway (W&AR) was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. The railway ran from Windsor, Nova Scotia, Windsor to Annapolis Royal and leased connections to Nova Scotia's capital of Ci ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, 1873–78. He then joined the family business of trade and became a merchant in the West Indies. He was an active member of the

West India Committee The West India Committee is a British-based organisation promoting ties and trade with the Caribbean. It operates as a UK-registered charity and NGO (non-governmental organisation) "whose object is to promote the interests of agriculture, manufactu ...

and served as its chairman from 1925 to 1936, and then served as president until his death. He also served as governor of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, and was vice-president of the British Empire Producers' Association. He was knighted in 1930 and appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the 1937 New Year Honours. He was a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

for more than three decades.

Personal life

In 1883, de Pass married Beatrice de Mercado, the daughter of Isaac Henry de Mercado, of Kingston, and had four sons, Harold, Frank, Eliot, and John, and one daughter, Marjorie. His second son, Frank (1887–1914), was the first Jewish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, which was awarded to him posthumously for conspicuous bravery. In 2014, on the centennial of Frank's death, he was honoured with a memorial paving stone laid outside the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, London. His daughter married Sir Henry Kitson and was the mother of Sir Frank Kitson. He died at home in London, aged 86. After his death, Sir Edward Davson eulogised him in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'',

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Pass, Eliot Arthur 1851 births 1937 deaths Merchants from London English Jews Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire English people of Spanish-Jewish descent British food industry businesspeople 20th-century English businesspeople