OPINION: Sir David Salomons – the first Jewish mayor of London
On the 150th anniversary of the death of the man who dedicated his life to securing Jewish emancipation, Derek Taylor asks why his legacy is not more widely celebrated
It’s one thing being a great Jewish entrepreneur; Sir Isaac Wolfson, Lord Alan Sugar, Lord Simon Marks, Sir Jack Cohen, among others. It’s far more difficult being a hero in the wider community – particularly in Victorian times.
Yet Sir David Salomon (1797-1873) was, time and again, elected to important offices of state. This year marks the 150th anniversary of his death and his memory is only recalled in two rooms in his country home in Tunbridge Wells.
David Salomons was the son of a stockbroker and joined the Stock Exchange when he was only 26. He became a Lloyds underwriter when he was 37 but had already been instrumental in the formation of the London & Westminster Bank of which he became a director.
In later years that bank became NatWest. The banking fraternity disliked the new joint stock bank to such an extent that it only opened a few branches in the first 25 years.
Salomon had also been accepted as a liveryman of the Cooper company. Jews were not allowed to hold municipal office in those days but a special act of Parliament was passed to allow him to be elected as the first Jewish Sheriff of the City of London in 1835.
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His ambition was to achieve emancipation for Jews and that included the right to sit in Parliament. The problem here was that the oath of allegiance had to be taken on the true word of a Christian. Defeated when standing for election in Shoreham in 1837, Maidstone in 1841 and Greenwich in 1847, he finally topped the poll in Greenwich in 1851.
Taking his seat in parliament, he refused to swear as a Christian, but took part in a few debates. This so incensed the other MPs that his behaviour was referred to the Court of Exchequer who fined him £500 for participating.
Now £500 today is over £58,000 but this did not deter Salomon. He had also been elected an alderman in 1835 but that office was denied him as well.
He did become High Sheriff of Kent in 1843 and a magistrate and deputy lieutenant of Kent, Sussex and Maidstone in 1845. From there he became the first Jewish Lord Mayor of London in 1855.
Salomon made it clear that he didn’t want Jews treated any differently from the rest of the population. When it was initially agreed that Jewish weddings in the new Marriage Act did not also require a civic certificate, he worked hard to ensure that this was not approved in the final wording. In this he went against the wishes of the Chief Rabbi.
When the Oath Act was passed, he became a Liberal MP from 1859 till his death in 1873. He was knighted in 1869.
The extraordinary thing about David Salomon is that he had so many friends in high places who were prepared to support him. He was married twice but had no children. A member of the Board of Deputies, he also supported many Jewish charities, and in addition to his philanthropic donations he must have had a very engaging personality. When he died, an obituarist recalled his “genial presence” and this seemed to be the general impression.
As Shakespeare wrote: “The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred. With their bones.” Since Sir David had not committed any evil, it seems a pity that he is still forgotten.
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