Sassoon David Sassoon

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:

• Joseph Sassoon Sassoon (1855–1918; married Louise de Gunzburg, a daughter of Horace Günzburg
  • Sassoon Joseph Sassoon (1885-1922), army officer
  • Arthur Meyer Sassoon, army officer
  • Frederick Sassoon, army officer
  • 4 other grandchildren
• Rachel Sassoon (later Beer), editor, (1858–1927; married Frederick Arthur Beer, son of Julius Beer).[1]
• Alfred Ezra Sassoon (1861–1895; married Theresa Thornycroft
  • Michael Thorneycroft Sassoon (1884-1969)
  • Siegfried Sassoon
  • Hamo Watts Sassoon, army officer, (1887 - killed 1 Nov 1915)
• Frederick Meyer Sassoon (1862–1889)
  • two granddaughters

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 (equivalent to £11,300,000 in 2021).[1] Later, Flora moved to 37 Adelaide Crescent in Hove, East Sussex.[4]