Flora Sassoon
| Flora Sassoon | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1859 Bombay, India |
| Died | 1936 |
| Residence |
Bombay, India England |
| Nationality | Indian-British |
| Occupation |
Hebraist businesswoman Philanthropist |
| Religion | Jewish |
| Spouse(s) | Solomon David Sassoon |
| Children |
David Solomon Sassoon Rachel Sassoon Mozelle Sassoon |
| Parent(s) |
Ezekiel Gubbay Aziza Sassoon |
Flora Sassoon (1859–1936) was an Indian-English businesswoman, scholar, Hebraist and philanthropist.
Biography
Early life
Flora Gubbay was born in 1859 in Bombay, India.[1][2] Her father was Ezekiel Gubbay (1824–1896), a trader and businessman who had come to India from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother, Aziza Sassoon (1839–1897).[1] Her maternal grandfather was Albert Abdullah David Sassoon (1818–1896).[2] As a result, her maternal great-grandfather was David Sassoon (1792–1864), a leading trader of cotton and opium who served as the treasurer of Baghdad between 1817 and 1829, and her maternal great-grandmother was his first wife, Hannah Joseph (1792–1826).[1][3][4][5] She had five siblings.[1]
She went to Catholic school and was also tutored privately from rabbis from Baghdad.[1] By the age of seventeen, she spoke Hebrew, Aramaic, Hindustani, English, French and German.[1]
Business
She took over her husband's trading business in India, David Sassoon & Company, shortly after his death.[6]
Hebraism
An Orthodox Jew, she was a strong supporter of the Balfour Declaration and a staunch zionist.[1] She also studied the Torah and wrote articles about Rashi.[1][5][7] In 1924, she presided over the Annual Speech Day at the Jews' College, stressing the importance of a Jewish education.[1] Moreover, she often hosted luncheons and dinners with Jewish cuisine in England.[1]
Philanthropy
Whilst living in India, she was an avid supporter of Waldemar Haffkine (1860–1930), who invented a vaccine against cholera, and encouraged reluctant Hindus and Muslims to take it.[1] Once she moved to England, she often donated to Jews around the world who appealed to her for money in their hours of need.[1]
Personal life
She married Solomon David Sassoon (1841–1894), the great-grandson of David Sassoon (1792–1864) by his second wife, Farha Hyeem (1814–1886); they were thus distant cousins.[1][3][4][5][8][9] They had three children:
- David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942; had a son, Solomon David Sassoon (1915–1985), and grandson, Isaac S.D. Sassoon).[1][2]
- Rachel Sassoon (1877–1952, married David Ezra).[1]
- Mozelle Sassoon (1884–1921).[1]
They lived in Bombay.[8] After her husband's death, she moved to England.[1][8] She died in 1936.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Jewish Women's Archive: Flora Sassoon
- 1 2 3 William D. Rubinstein, The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, p. 864
- 1 2 Irene Roth, Cecil Roth, historian without tears: a memoir, Sepher-Hermon Press, 1982, p. 91
- 1 2 Isaac Landman, The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia ...: An Authoritative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times, 1943, Volume 9, p. 375 [books.google.co.uk/books?id=XZ4YAAAAIAAJ&q="Flora+Sassoon"+1859–1936&dq="Flora+Sassoon"+1859–1936&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-eBYUsijL4Kx0QWKkYC4Dg&ved=0CF0Q6AEwCA]
- 1 2 3 Richard Ayoun, Haïm Vidal Séphiha, Séfarades d'hier et d'aujourd'hui: 70 portraits, L. Lévi, 1992, p. 137
- ↑ Joan G. Roland, The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era, Piscataway, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1998, p. 18
- ↑ Michael Kaufman, The Woman in Jewish Law and Tradition, J. Aronson, 1993, p. 81
- 1 2 3 Orpa Slapak, The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities, UPNE, 1995, p. 38
- ↑ Jewish Museum London: Bookplate of Solomon Sassoon