>Citation bot Alter: isbn. Removed proxy or dead URL that duplicated free-DOI or unique identifier. Removed access-date with no URL. Removed parameters. Upgrade ISBN10 to ISBN13. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:1921 deaths | via #UCB_Category 1058/2299 |
m updated page |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Indian gem trader (1849–1921)}} | |||
{{EngvarB|date=April 2014}} | {{EngvarB|date=April 2014}} | ||
{{Use dmy dates|date= | {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} | ||
{{ | {{more citations needed|date=October 2011}} | ||
'''Alexander Malcolm Jacob''' (1849 | '''Alexander Malcolm Jacob''' (1849–1921) was a diamond and gemstone trader in [[Shimla|Simla]], India. Probably a [[Jacobite Church|Jacobite Christian]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zubrzycki|first=John|title=Mysterious mr jacob.|date=2012|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-81-8400-126-6|location=[Place of publication not identified]|oclc=939495203}}</ref> his grandfather was an engineer in [[Constantinople]], and his father was the first soap manufacturer in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. | ||
==Life== | ==Life== | ||
At the age of ten, Jacob was sold as a slave to a [[pasha]], who educated him. He acquired knowledge of Eastern life, language, art, literature, philosophy, and [[occultism]]. After his master's death, Jacob performed the [[Hajj]] to | At the age of ten, Jacob was sold as a slave to a [[pasha]], who educated him. He acquired knowledge of Eastern life, language, art, literature, philosophy, and [[occultism]]. After his master's death, Jacob performed the [[Hajj]] to Mecca at the age of 21, indicating that he was then a Muslim. Jacob moved to Bombay, India, where he worked as a clerk based on his knowledge of Arabic. Later, he moved to Hyderabad, where he worked for Ami-ul-Kabir, father of Sir Kharsheedjah Bahadur; from there, he moved to Calcutta, where he worked for the jewellers Charles Nephew and Co. He then worked for the [[Nawab of Rampur]] and Dholpur for a short time. | ||
Jacob arrived in [[Shimla|Simla]] in the 1870s and founded a business trading precious gemstones and curios. The success of the business allowed him to build and maintain a luxury home, known as Belvedere, in Simla. | Jacob arrived in [[Shimla|Simla]] in the 1870s and founded a business trading precious gemstones and curios. The success of the business allowed him to build and maintain a luxury home, known as Belvedere, in Simla. | ||
| Line 13: | Line 14: | ||
|last1= Bhasin | |last1= Bhasin | ||
|first1=Raja | |first1=Raja | ||
|year= 1992 | |year= 1992 | ||
|isbn = 978-0-670-84728-0 | |isbn = 978-0-670-84728-0 | ||
| Line 21: | Line 21: | ||
==Jacob diamond== | ==Jacob diamond== | ||
He is best known for having sold the [[Jacob Diamond]], which is the seventh largest diamond known in the world (previously known as the Victoria Diamond, Imperial Diamond, or Great White Diamond).<ref>{{cite web|url= | He is best known for having sold the [[Jacob Diamond]], which is the seventh largest diamond known in the world (previously known as the Victoria Diamond, Imperial Diamond, or Great White Diamond).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/victoriadiamond.html |title=The Victoria Diamond (also known as the Jacob Diamond) |publisher=Famousdiamonds.tripod.com |access-date=11 July 2012}}</ref> It was owned by the [[Nizam]] of Hyderabad and is currently owned by the Government of India. | ||
The sale of the Jacob Diamond to [[Mir Mahbub Ali Khan]], Nizam of Hyderabad, considered to be one of the richest men in the world, ruined Jacob. He was brought to trial on charges of fraud, and was acquitted only after a long trial at the Calcutta High Court. Jacob was unable to obtain the money due to him, as the court had no jurisdiction over the Indian States. Nor was there any mechanism to get the diamond back. The controversy over the sale cost Jacob his customers. Legal expenses and the default of other princes bankrupted him, who left Simla for Bombay in late 1901. | The sale of the Jacob Diamond to [[Mir Mahbub Ali Khan]], Nizam of Hyderabad, considered to be one of the richest men in the world, ruined Jacob. He was brought to trial on charges of fraud, and was acquitted only after a long trial at the Calcutta High Court. Jacob was unable to obtain the money due to him, as the court had no jurisdiction over the Indian States. Nor was there any mechanism to get the diamond back. The controversy over the sale cost Jacob his customers. Legal expenses and the default of other princes bankrupted him, who left Simla for Bombay in late 1901. | ||
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
[[Category:1921 deaths]] | [[Category:1921 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:Businesspeople from Himachal Pradesh]] | [[Category:Businesspeople from Himachal Pradesh]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Merchants from British India]] | ||
[[Category:Indian Muslims]] | [[Category:Indian Muslims]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Muslims from the Ottoman Empire]] | ||
[[Category:Immigrants to British India]] | |||
[[Category:Indian slaves]] | [[Category:Indian slaves]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Businesspeople from Kolkata]] | ||
[[Category:People from İzmir]] | [[Category:People from İzmir]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Businesspeople from Mumbai]] | ||
[[Category:People from Shimla]] | [[Category:People from Shimla]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Merchants from the Ottoman Empire]] | ||
Latest revision as of 02:15, 15 August 2025
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2011) |
Alexander Malcolm Jacob (1849–1921) was a diamond and gemstone trader in Simla, India. Probably a Jacobite Christian,[1] his grandfather was an engineer in Constantinople, and his father was the first soap manufacturer in the Ottoman Empire.
Life[edit | edit source]
At the age of ten, Jacob was sold as a slave to a pasha, who educated him. He acquired knowledge of Eastern life, language, art, literature, philosophy, and occultism. After his master's death, Jacob performed the Hajj to Mecca at the age of 21, indicating that he was then a Muslim. Jacob moved to Bombay, India, where he worked as a clerk based on his knowledge of Arabic. Later, he moved to Hyderabad, where he worked for Ami-ul-Kabir, father of Sir Kharsheedjah Bahadur; from there, he moved to Calcutta, where he worked for the jewellers Charles Nephew and Co. He then worked for the Nawab of Rampur and Dholpur for a short time.
Jacob arrived in Simla in the 1870s and founded a business trading precious gemstones and curios. The success of the business allowed him to build and maintain a luxury home, known as Belvedere, in Simla.
The quality of his work resulted in a clientele composed of some of the wealthiest and most influential people in India. The Pioneer found him 'endowed by nature with a wonderful handsome face and form' and there was about him a 'compelling magnetism, a power and mystery which led to his being sought for conversation and advice by Viceroy and princes'. Reports indicate he was celibate, a vegetarian, a teetotaller, and a non-smoker.[2]
Jacob diamond[edit | edit source]
He is best known for having sold the Jacob Diamond, which is the seventh largest diamond known in the world (previously known as the Victoria Diamond, Imperial Diamond, or Great White Diamond).[3] It was owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad and is currently owned by the Government of India.
The sale of the Jacob Diamond to Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad, considered to be one of the richest men in the world, ruined Jacob. He was brought to trial on charges of fraud, and was acquitted only after a long trial at the Calcutta High Court. Jacob was unable to obtain the money due to him, as the court had no jurisdiction over the Indian States. Nor was there any mechanism to get the diamond back. The controversy over the sale cost Jacob his customers. Legal expenses and the default of other princes bankrupted him, who left Simla for Bombay in late 1901.
Jacob lost his eyesight, and after fourteen years of blindness was cured by the charity of a surgeon friend. His last years were spent in a modest room at Watson's Annexe, a property facing the Bombay Yacht Club. Jacob's last words (to Alice Dracott) were "Give my love to Simla".[2] He died in 1921 and his obituary notice in The Times of 21 January 1921 states Jacob "claimed to be a Turk ... born near Constantinople".
Popular culture[edit | edit source]
American author F. Marion Crawford wrote the novel Mr. Isaacs about him in 1882. The character Lurgan Sahib of Rudyard Kipling's novel Kim was also based on Jacob.
A biography by John Zubrzycki, The Mysterious Mr Jacob: diamond merchant, magician and spy [ISBN 9780995359437], was published in 2017.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Zubrzycki, John (2012). Mysterious mr jacob. [Place of publication not identified]: Random House. ISBN 978-81-8400-126-6. OCLC 939495203.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bhasin, Raja (1992), Simla, the summer capital of British India, Viking, ISBN 978-0-670-84728-0
- ↑ "The Victoria Diamond (also known as the Jacob Diamond)". Famousdiamonds.tripod.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.