Sake Dean Mahomed

TRAVELER, SUGEON, ENTREPENEUR (BENGALI)
BORN 1759, Patna, Bihar - DIED 24 Feb 1851, Brighton, East Sussex: 32 Grand Parade
GRAVE LOCATION Brighton, East Sussex: St. Nicholas' Churchyard

Sake Dean Mohamed claimed that he was born into a noble Muslim family. He served in the Bengal army of the British East India Company where he was trained as a surgeon. He was taken under the wing of Captain Godfrey Evan Baker and when Baker resigned from the army he followed him to Cork, Ireland in 1784.

In Cork he improved his English. In 1786 he eloped with an Irish girl, Jane Daly. They married and had five children. In 1794 he published "The Travels of Dean Mahomet", describing several cities in India as well as and military conflicts.

He moved to London and in 1810 he opened the first Indian restaurant in England, the Hindoostanee Coffee House in George Street. It was no success and he settled with Jane in Brighton in 1814. There they opened England's first "shampooing" vapour masseur bath. This was an instant success and it earned him the nickname "Dr. Brighton". Such was his success that he was even appointed shampooing surgeon to the kings Gerge IV and William IV. He died in 1851 in Brighton.

He was buried at St. Nicholas' Churchyard in Brighton beside Jane. His son Frederick, who was the owner of Turkish baths at Brighton, was buried in the same grave.

Images

The grave of Sake Dean Mahomed at St. Nicholas' Churchyard, Brighton.
Picture by Androom (07 Feb 2012)

 

Sources
Dean Mahomed - Wikipedia


Salbach, Clara

Published: 15 Apr 2018
Last update: 09 Mar 2022