Renée Dangor

Renée Rebecca Dangor (Arabic: رينيه دنكور‎) was the first beauty queen in the history of Iraq, being crowned in 1947. She was born in December 1925 to a Jewish Baghdadi family in Shanghai (Republic of China), and died on July 9, 2008, in London.

Renée Dangor
Born
Renée Rebecca Dangor

December 1925
Shanghai, Republic of China
Died(2008-07-09)July 9, 2008 (aged 82)
London, England
TitleMiss Iraq 1947
Spouse(s)Naim Dangoor
Children4
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorDark Green
WebsiteOfficial website
Renée Dangor crowned Miss Baghdad, with trophy (January 1st, 1948)
Renée Dangor's marriage with Naim Dangoor, November 1947
Colorised picture of Renée Dangor after her marriage (1948)

She belonged to a distinguished family of Baghdadi Jews. Her father, Moshe Dangor (1888-1962), was a prominent doctor in Baghdad, whose father was the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad, Ezra Dangoor (1848–1930); her mother's name was Sybil Luna Dangoor (1900-?).[1] Her paternal uncle, Eliahou Dangor (1883-1976), father of her future husband, ran the Ezra Reuben Dangor Print, established in Baghdad in 1904 by his father the Great Rabbi, one of the oldest ones in Iraq, said to be the world's largest printer of books in Arabic.[2]

She was born in Shanghai, where her family temporarily lived for business. The family moved back to Baghdad when she was still a child.[3] Renée Dangor was crowned Miss Baghdad on December 31, 1946, and in September 1947 awarded the title of Miss Iraq. The celebration was held at the Iraqi Flying Club, during the New Year's Benefit Ball. In November 1947, she married her cousin, Dr. Naim Dangoor (1914–2015), with whom she had four sons, one of whom is the British businessman and philanthropist David Dangoor.

According to David Dangoor, son of the couple, the family left Iraq in 1959, although the father, Naim Dangoor, continued managing the family business in Iraq for some years, until it was expropriated from him.[3][4]

Her memorial webpage records a lecture of hers, held in October 1990, on the subject of the Jews of Shanghai and their plight during the Second World War.[5]

Renée Dangor died on July 9, 2008, having suffered from breast cancer.

References
  1. "Renée Rebecca Dangoor". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  2. "Sir Naim Dangoor, businessman - obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  3. Week, Jew of the. "Miss Iraq | Jew of the Week". Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  4. "Funding education runs in their family". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  5. "Untitled Document". www.dangoor.com.
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