Vayven louis solomon biography of william

Vaiben Louis Solomon (13 May 1853 - 20 October 1908) was the 21st Premier of South Australia and a member of the first Australian Commonwealth parliament.

Vayven louis solomon biography of william

Solomon was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of Judah Moss Solomon, a member of the South Australian Legislative Council and Lord Mayor of Adelaide from 1869 to 1870. After an education at Scotch College, Melbourne, the Jewish Solomon wished to marry Mary Wigzell, a gentile, but his father so opposed the marriage that Solomon left for the Northern Territory in 1873.

There he became editor of the Northern Territory Times as well as holding successful mining and mercantile holdings. He mixed these interests in his 1894 book Guide to Western Australia and its goldfields. Additionally, on 6 December 1880, three months after his father's death, Solomon married Wigzell, now a widow with a young son.

He became a prominent figure in the Northern Territory and gained the nickname "Black Solom