David Moses ben Meir Dyte (c. 1770–1830) was an English Jewish quill merchant who distinguished himself by preventing the assassination attempt on George III by James Hadfield on 15 May 1800.[1]

Dyte was attending Colley Cibber's play She Would and She Would Not at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane when Hadfield fired a horsepistol at the King. Dyte, seated directly behind the shooter, struck the assailant and deflected the shot.[2][3] It is said that Dyte asked as his sole reward the right to sell opera tickets, then a monopoly at the royal disposal.[4] In 1802 he was appointed 'Purveyor of Pens and Quills to the Royal Household'.[5] The incident was immortalised in the play Jew Dyte by Harold Rubinstein.

Dyte was the father of Henry Dyte, who served as Honorary Secretary to the Blind Society; and the grandfather of D. H. Dyte, Surgeon to the Jewish Board of Guardians, and Charles Dyte, a parliamentarian in the colony of Victoria.[5][6]

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1903). "Dyte, D. M.". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 25.

  1. ^ "Unsung Jewish Heroes: David Moses Dyte" (PDF). Westminster Quarterly. Vol. 8, no. 1. January 2017. p. 11.
  2. ^ Attempt on the Life of the King: The Trial of James Hadfield, for High Treason. London: C. Barber. 26 June 1800. p. 10.
  3. ^ Howell, T. B.; Howell, Thomas Jones, eds. (1820). A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from the Earliest Period to the Year 1783, with Notes and Other Illustrations. Vol. 27. London: T. C. Hansard. p. 1297.
  4. ^  Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1903). "Dyte, D. M.". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 25.
  5. ^ a b Rubinstein, William D.; Jolles, Michael; Rubinstein, Hilary L., eds. (2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 236. ISBN 978-1-4039-3910-4. OCLC 644655045.
  6. ^ Picciotto, James (1875). Sketches of Anglo-Jewish History. London: Trübner & Company. pp. 278.


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