| AdminHistory | Joseph Pyke, born London, son of Eleazar Pyke, an official of the Great Synagogue, 1821; a successful diamond merchant; one of the founders of the London Electrical Supply Corporation; active in the struggle for Jewish parliamentary emancipation in the early 1840s; lived in Chatham, 1850-1867; knew Charles Dickens whom he reputedly persuaded to give the first public readings of his works; married Sara Magnus, c1859; involved with a range of charitable works; one of the founders of the Jewish Association for the Protection of Women and Girls and presented a Lodging House to the Association in memory of his wife, 1900; Warden of the Central Synagogue, 1892-1901; involved in the management of the Grosvenor Gallery; financially involved in the building of theatres in London; Master of the Ancient Company of Farriers of the City of London, 1897-1898; died 1902.
Sara Pyke, daughter of Simon Magnus, died 1893. |