Sir David Salomons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of Parliament forGreenwich | |
| In office 1851–1852 Serving with J. W. Deans Dundas andH. Stewart | |
| Preceded by | Edward George Barnard James Whitley Deans Dundas |
| Succeeded by | Peter Rolt Montague Chambers |
| Constituency | Greenwich |
| Lord Mayor of the City of London | |
| In office November 10, 1855 – November 8, 1856 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Moon |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Finnis |
| Member of Parliament forGreenwich | |
| In office 1859–1873 | |
| Preceded by | Sir William Codrington John Townsend |
| Succeeded by | William Ewart Gladstone Thomas Boord |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1797-11-22)22 November 1797 London,Great Britain |
| Died | 18 July 1873(1873-07-18) (aged 75) |
| Resting place | West Ham Jewish Cemetery |
| Political party | Radicals (1851–1859) Liberal (1859–1873) |
Sir David Salomons, 1st Baronet (22 November 1797 – 18 July 1873), was a leading figure in the 19th century struggle forJewish emancipation in theUnited Kingdom. He was the first JewishSheriff of the City of London andLord Mayor of London.[1]
Born inLondon, the son of Levy Salomons ofSt Mary Axe andFrant,Sussex, and Matilda de Metz ofLeyden (married in 1795), he followed his father into business in theCity of London, where he was a successfulbanker. Salomons was one of the founders of theLondon and Westminster Bank (now theNatWest), and a member of theLondon Stock Exchange.
In 1835 he was elected assheriff of the City of London. However, he was unable to take up the post, because the mandatory oath of office included Christian statements of faith. TheSheriffs' Declaration Act was passed later that year, and Salomons was able to take up the post. In 1839, he wasHigh Sheriff of Kent, where his Broomhill estate,[2] now theSalomons Museum, was located nearTunbridge Wells.
In December 1835, Salomons was elected as anAlderman of the City of London, but again faced an unacceptable oath, and on this occasion the law was not changed. Salomons was disqualified, but was re-elected in 1847, after theReligious Opinions Relief Act had amended the oath. In 1855, the Aldermen elected him asLord Mayor of London.
In the meantime, he trained as alawyer and was called to the bar in 1849, though he did not practise as abarrister. However, he was the first Jewishmagistrate in England. In 1847 he served on the committee of theBritish Relief Association.
In 1851, he stood as aLiberal candidate at aby-election in theGreenwich constituency, and on 28 June he was elected as one of the constituency's twoMembers of Parliament (MPs). He had previously been defeated in the 1847 general election.
He was not permitted to serve in theHouse of Commons, because he had not taken theoath of abjuration in the form established byParliament. However, he did not withdraw quietly: instead he took the oath, but omitted the Christian phrases, and took his seat on the government benches.
He was asked to withdraw, and did so on the second request, but he returned three days later, on 21 July 1851. In the debate that followed, Salomons defended his presence on grounds of having been elected by a large majority, but was eventually removed by theSergeant-at-Arms, and fined £500 for having voted illegally in threedivisions of the House. He failed to win re-election in the 1852 general election.
When the law was eventually changed in 1858,Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jewish MP to legally take his seat, having been elected in 1857. In the1859 general election, David Salomons was re-elected for Greenwich and served as the constituency's MP until his death in 1873.
His country house Broomhill north of Tunbridge Wells is now preserved as theSalomons Museum.
Salomons married in 1825 Jeanette, daughter of Solomon Cohen ofCanonbury House and Hannah Samuel. Her aunts Judith and Henriette were the wives of SirMoses Montefiore andNathan Mayer Rothschild respectively. After her death in 1867 Salomons married Cecilia, the daughter ofSamuel Moses Samuel in 1872. He was made abaronet of Broom Hill in theparish of Tonbridge in theCounty of Kent and ofGreat Cumberland Place in theCounty of Middlesex on 26 October 1869.[3]
He died on 18 July 1873, and is buried in theJewish Cemetery at West Ham. He had no children by either of his marriages, so his estate and titles passed to his nephewDavid Lionel Salomons, whom he had brought up after the death of Sir David's brotherPhilip Salomons.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forGreenwich 1851–1852 With:James Whitley Deans Dundas to Jan 1852 Houston Stewart from Feb 1852 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forGreenwich 1859–1873 With:Sir William Codrington, to May 1859 William Angerstein, May 1859–1865 Sir Charles Tilston Bright, 1865–1868 William Ewart Gladstone, 1865–1873 | Succeeded by |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lord Mayor of the City of London 1855 | Succeeded by Thomas Finnis |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Broom Hill) 1869–1873 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |