David F. Kessler

David Francis Kessler, OBE, (6 June 1906 - 24 November 1999) was a British publisher and author. He was the managing director of The Jewish Chronicle.

David Francis Kessler
Born	6 June 1906 Pretoria, South Africa
Died	24 November 1999 (1999-11-25) (aged 93) Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire, England, U.K.
Alma mater	Leighton Park School University of Cambridge
Occupation(s)	Publisher, author
Spouse	Matilda Kessler
Children	1 son, 3 daughters
Parent	Leopold Kessler

Early life

David Kessler was born on 6 June 1906 in Pretoria, South Africa.^[1][2][3] His father, Leopold Kessler, was a friend of Theodor Herzl, an early proponent of Zionism, and a shareholder of The Jewish Chronicle.

Kessler was educated at Leighton Park School in Reading before graduating from the University of Cambridge, where he earned a bachelor's degree in law and economics.^[1][2][3]

Career

Kessler began his career by working for Antonin Besse,^[3] an oil and shipping businessman with ties to the Royal Dutch Shell in Aden, Yemen.^[1] He subsequently worked for the Palestine Potash Company, later known as the Dead Sea Works, in Jerusalem.^[1][2][3]

Kessler became the managing director of The Jewish Chronicle in London in 1935.^[1] In 1946, he dismissed the editor, Ivan Greenberg, who was deemed too divisive.^[1] Instead, he appointed John Maurice Shaftesley, who remained in the post until 1958, when he hired William Frankel.^[2]

Kessler wrote two books.^[1] He was a founding member of the Minority Rights Group.^[1] He served as the chairman of the Falasha Welfare Association and the Wiener Library in London.^[1][2] He was awarded the OBE in the 1996 New Year Honours "for services to the Jewish Chronicle and to the Jewish community".^[1][2]

Personal life and death

Kessler had a wife, Matilda, a son, and three daughters.^[1] They resided in Stoke Hammond, Buckinghamshire, England, where he died on 24 November 1999.^[1][2]

Works

• Kessler, David (1996). The Falashas: A Short History of the Ethiopian Jews. London: Frank Cass. ISBN 9780714646466. OCLC 33078505.
• Kessler, David (1996). The Rothschilds and Disraeli in Buckinghamshire. Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, U.K.: Rothschild Waddesdon. ISBN 9780952780908. OCLC 54503723.

Further reading

• Crown, Alan D. (1998). Noblesse Oblige: Essays in Honour of David Kessler OBE. London: Vallentine Mitchell. ISBN 9780853033561. OCLC 38549790.