Flora Sassoon

Flora Sassoon (18 November 1856 – 14 January 1936) was a Jewish Indian businesswoman, scholar, Hebraist and philanthropist. Tombstone at the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel.

Early life Flora Gubbay was born in 1856 in Bombay, India. Her father was Ezekiel Abraham Gubbay (1824–1896), a trader and businessman whom had come to India from Baghdad, Iraq, and her mother was Aziza Sassoon (1839–1897). She had five siblings (and half siblings with the first wife of her grand father).

An observant orthodox Jew, she always travelled with her own prayer quorum of ten Jewish male adults In 1924, she presided over the Annual Speech Day at the Jews' College, stressing the importance of a Jewish education. She often hosted Middle Eastern/Indian luncheons and dinners with Jewish cuisine, To guarantee this, she always travelled with her personal ritual slaughterer.

Whilst living in India, Sassoon was a supporter of Waldemar Haffkine (1860–1930), who invented a vaccine against cholera, and encouraged reluctant Hindus and Muslims to take it. Once she moved to England, she often donated to Jews around the world who appealed to her for money in their hours of need. They had three children: David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942) married Selina Prins (1883-1967) on December 17, 1912 had two children, Flora (Farha) Feuchtwanger (1914-2000) and Solomon (Suleiman) (1915-1985). Rachel Sassoon Ezra (1877–1952) married Sir David Ezra) There were correspondences in writing between the family and Hakham Joseph Hayyim, the grand sage of Baghdad, revered for his piety and known also by his celebrated work, Ben Ish Hai. The latter died in 1909 and could not have been present for the Sassoon family visit in 1910.

Sassoon died in 1936 at her mansion in London.