Reuben David Sassoon, MVO (1835–1905) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

businessman.

Biography

Early life

Reuben David Sassoon was born in 1835 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 ...

.National Portrait Gallery: Reuben David Sassoon (1835–1905), Son of David Sassoon of Bombay
/ref> His father was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a Jewish trader of

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

and cotton in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

who served as the Treasurer of

from 1817 to 1829. One of his brothers was

Arthur Sassoon Arthur Abraham David Sassoon (25 May 1840 – 13 March 1912) was an English banker and socialite. Biography Early life Arthur Abraham David Sassoon was born on 25 May 1840. He was the fifth son of David Sassoon (1792–1864), a Jewish trad ...

(1840–1912).

Career

He worked for his father's company, serving as director of David Sassoon & Co. for

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

and

. By 1865, he also served on the board of directors of the China Steamship and Labuan Coal Company alongside T. C. Bruce, Sir J. D. Elphinstone, Harry Borradaile, H. B. Loch, Henry Alers Hankey, William Miller, Edward Pereira, G. Lathom Brown, Alexander Sinclair, James N. Daniel and John Hickie. In 1890 he was a guest at

Tranby Croft Tranby Croft is a large Grade II listed building, listed Victorian country house and estate at Anlaby, near Kingston upon Hull, Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The house is now the Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independe ...

, and was the croupier for the Prince of Wales on the successive nights of the royal Baccarat scandal. He saw nothing amiss.

Judaism

Together with Abraham Jacob David and Marcus David Ezekiel, he was involved with the

Ohel Leah Synagogue The Ohel Leah Synagogue () is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at the junction of Robinson Road and Castle Road, in the Mid Levels on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Overview Together with the adjacent Jewish R ...

near

Staunton Street Staunton Street () is a street in Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Together with the upper section of Elgin Street, Hong Kong, Elgin Street, it is the heart of the SoHo, Hong Kong, Soho entertainment ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

by 1898. During his life, David also acquired ritual objects from Levi Salomons, a British financier, which he added to his existing collection that his family had brought with them from the Far East.

Personal life

He was married to Catherine Sassoon (1838–1906).Reed Digital Collections: Jewish Atlantic World: Catherine Sassoon
/ref> They resided at 7 Queens Gardens (now demolished) in

Brighton & Hove Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

.Marcus Roberts
Brighton & Hove: History
''National Anglo-Jewish Trail'' They had six children: * Rachel Sassoon (1860) * Luna Sassoon (1866) * David Reuben Sassoon (1867) * Mozelle Sassoon (1869)Reed Digital Collections: Jewish Atlantic World: Mozelle Sassoon
/ref> * Flora Cecilia Sassoon * Judith Louise Sassoon (1874–1964) He died in 1905. His wife died a year later, in 1906, and she was buried in the Novo Beth Chaim Cemetery in

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. Photographers Maull & Fox took his portrait in costume as a Persian prince for the Duchess of Devonshire's 1897 fancy-dress ball. A

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

of his portrait by Walker & Boutall was printed in an album of portraits of some of the people who attended the ball; a copy of that album now rests in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassoon, Reuben 1835 births 1905 deaths People from Brighton and Hove

Reuben David Reuben David (19 September 1912 – 24 March 1989) was a zoologist and the founder of the Kankaria Zoo in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Biography He was born into a Bene Israel Jewish family in Ahmedabad. He was the youngest son of Joseph David. ...

English Jews Members of the Royal Victorian Order 19th-century English businesspeople English people of Indian-Jewish descent British businesspeople of Indian descent Baghdadi Jews