Maurice de Hirsch
Encyclopedia
Maurice de Hirsch (9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896) was a German
-Jewish philanthropist
who set up charitable foundations to promote Jewish education
and improve the lot of oppressed European Jewry. He was the founder of the Jewish Colonization Association
which sponsored large-scale Jewish immigration to Argentina
.
to school. He went into business at the age of seventeen. In 1855 he became associated with the banking house of Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, of Brussels, London
and Paris
. He amassed a large fortune, which he increased by purchasing and working railway concessions in Austria
, Turkey
and the Balkans
, and by speculations in sugar
and copper
. He lived in great splendour in Paris, where he owned a town house on rue de l'Elysée and the Château de Beauregard
. He also had residences in London and Hungary
.
Baron de Hirsch married on June 28, 1855 Clara Bischoffsheim (born 1833), daughter of Senator Bischoffsheim of Brussels, by whom he had a son and daughter.
Maurice de Hirsch died at Ógyalla, near Komorn
, in Hungary, on April 21, 1896. The baroness, seconded her husband's charitable work with great munificence — their total benefactions have been estimated at £18,000,000. She died at Paris on April 1, 1899 leaving the remaining family assets to her nephew, father of Belgium business mogul Maurice de Hirsch II.
, and on two occasions presented the society with gifts of a million francs. For some years he regularly paid the deficits in the accounts of the Alliance, amounting to several thousand pounds a year. In 1889 he capitalized his donations and presented the society with securities producing an annual income of £16,000. On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the emperor Francis Joseph's accession to the Austrian throne he gave £500,000 for the establishment of primary and technical schools in Galicia and the Bukowina
. Hirsch donated all the prize money won by his string of racehorses to charity. This included more than £35,000 won by his mare La Fleche
between 1891 and 1894.
. The Russian Government was willing to accept the money, but declined to allow any foreigner to be concerned in its control or administration.
Thereupon Baron de Hirsch resolved to devote the money to an emigration and colonization scheme which should afford the persecuted Jews opportunities of establishing themselves in agricultural colonies outside Russia. He founded the Jewish Colonization Association
as an English society, with a capital of £2,000,000, and in 1892 he presented to it a further sum of £7,000,000. On the death of his wife in 1899 the capital was increased to £11,000,000, of which £1,250,000 went to the Treasury, after some litigation, in death duties. This enormous fund, which was in its time probably the greatest charitable trust in the world, was managed by delegates of certain Jewish societies, chiefly the Anglo-Jewish Association of London and the Alliance Israelite Universelle of Paris, among whom the shares in the association have been divided.
The association, which was prohibited from working for profit, possessed large agricultural colonies in Argentina
, Canada
and Palestine
. In addition to its vast agricultural work it had a gigantic and complex machinery for dealing with the whole problem of Jewish persecution, including emigration and distributing agencies, technical schools, co-operative factories, savings and loan banks and model dwellings. It also assisted a large number of societies all over the world whose work was connected with the relief and rehabilitation of Jewish refugees.
Besides this great organization, Baron de Hirsch founded in 1881 a benevolent trust in the United States
for the benefit of Jewish immigrants, which he endowed with £493,000. His minor charities were on a princely scale, and during his residence in London he distributed over £100,000 among the local hospitals.
In 1900 his estate donated funds to the Pasteur Institute
in Paris for the construction of their Chimie biologique (biochemistry) building.
, originally was known as the Baron de Hirsch Benevolent Society.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-Jewish philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
who set up charitable foundations to promote Jewish education
Jewish education
Jewish education is the transmission of the tenets, principles and religious laws of Judaism. Due to its emphasis on Torah study, many have commented that Judaism is characterised by "lifelong learning" that extends to adults as much as it does to children.-History:The tradition of Jewish...
and improve the lot of oppressed European Jewry. He was the founder of the Jewish Colonization Association
Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...
which sponsored large-scale Jewish immigration to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Biography
Maurice de Hirsch was born on 9 December 1831. His grandfather, the first Jewish landowner in Bavaria, was ennobled with the appellation "auf Gereuth" in 1818; his father, who was banker to the Bavarian king, was created a baron in 1869. For generations, the family occupied a prominent position in the German Jewish community. At the age of thirteen, Hirsch was sent to BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to school. He went into business at the age of seventeen. In 1855 he became associated with the banking house of Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, of Brussels, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He amassed a large fortune, which he increased by purchasing and working railway concessions in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, and by speculations in sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
. He lived in great splendour in Paris, where he owned a town house on rue de l'Elysée and the Château de Beauregard
Château de Beauregard, La Celle-Saint-Cloud
Château de Beauregard is a former house in La Celle-Saint-Cloud south-west suburbs of Paris, five kilometers north of Versailles.The name of the domain seems to have its roots in the Middle-Ages...
. He also had residences in London and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
Baron de Hirsch married on June 28, 1855 Clara Bischoffsheim (born 1833), daughter of Senator Bischoffsheim of Brussels, by whom he had a son and daughter.
Maurice de Hirsch died at Ógyalla, near Komorn
Komorn
Komorn may refer to:* Komárom in Hungary, Komorn in German* Komárno in Slovakia, Komorn in German...
, in Hungary, on April 21, 1896. The baroness, seconded her husband's charitable work with great munificence — their total benefactions have been estimated at £18,000,000. She died at Paris on April 1, 1899 leaving the remaining family assets to her nephew, father of Belgium business mogul Maurice de Hirsch II.
Philanthropy
He devoted much of his time to schemes for the relief of his Hebrew co-religionists in lands where they were persecuted and oppressed. He took a deep interest in the educational work of the Alliance Israelite UniverselleAlliance Israélite Universelle
The Alliance Israélite Universelle is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to safeguard the human rights of Jews around the world...
, and on two occasions presented the society with gifts of a million francs. For some years he regularly paid the deficits in the accounts of the Alliance, amounting to several thousand pounds a year. In 1889 he capitalized his donations and presented the society with securities producing an annual income of £16,000. On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the emperor Francis Joseph's accession to the Austrian throne he gave £500,000 for the establishment of primary and technical schools in Galicia and the Bukowina
Bukowina
Bukowina may refer to:*Bukowina, Lower Silesian Voivodeship *Bukowina, Biłgoraj County in Lublin Voivodeship *Bukowina, Piotrków County in Łódź Voivodeship...
. Hirsch donated all the prize money won by his string of racehorses to charity. This included more than £35,000 won by his mare La Fleche
La Fleche (horse)
La Fleche was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After being undefeated as a two-year-old in 1891 she went on to become the dominant British three-year-old of 1892, whe she claimed the Fillies’ Triple Crown by winning the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Oaks at Epsom and the St Leger...
between 1891 and 1894.
Jewish resettlement schemes
The greatest charitable enterprise on which he embarked was in connection with the persecution of the Jews in Russia. He gave £10,000 to the funds raised for the repatriation of the refugees in 1882, but, feeling that this was a very lame conclusion to the efforts made in western Europe for the relief of the Russian Jews, he offered the Russian Government £2,000,000 for the endowment of a system of secular education to be established in the Jewish Pale of SettlementPale of Settlement
The Pale of Settlement was the term given to a region of Imperial Russia, in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed, and beyond which Jewish permanent residency was generally prohibited...
. The Russian Government was willing to accept the money, but declined to allow any foreigner to be concerned in its control or administration.
Thereupon Baron de Hirsch resolved to devote the money to an emigration and colonization scheme which should afford the persecuted Jews opportunities of establishing themselves in agricultural colonies outside Russia. He founded the Jewish Colonization Association
Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...
as an English society, with a capital of £2,000,000, and in 1892 he presented to it a further sum of £7,000,000. On the death of his wife in 1899 the capital was increased to £11,000,000, of which £1,250,000 went to the Treasury, after some litigation, in death duties. This enormous fund, which was in its time probably the greatest charitable trust in the world, was managed by delegates of certain Jewish societies, chiefly the Anglo-Jewish Association of London and the Alliance Israelite Universelle of Paris, among whom the shares in the association have been divided.
The association, which was prohibited from working for profit, possessed large agricultural colonies in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. In addition to its vast agricultural work it had a gigantic and complex machinery for dealing with the whole problem of Jewish persecution, including emigration and distributing agencies, technical schools, co-operative factories, savings and loan banks and model dwellings. It also assisted a large number of societies all over the world whose work was connected with the relief and rehabilitation of Jewish refugees.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for the benefit of Jewish immigrants, which he endowed with £493,000. His minor charities were on a princely scale, and during his residence in London he distributed over £100,000 among the local hospitals.
In 1900 his estate donated funds to the Pasteur Institute
Pasteur Institute
The Pasteur Institute is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who made some of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine at the time, including pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax...
in Paris for the construction of their Chimie biologique (biochemistry) building.
Commemoration
The Beth Israel Synagogue (Halifax, Nova Scotia)Beth Israel Synagogue (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Beth Israel Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 1480 Oxford Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Formally chartered by a Private Member's Bill in the Nova Scotia legislature in 1895, it grew out of the Baron de Hirsch Hebrew Benevolent Society , which was formed in 1890...
, originally was known as the Baron de Hirsch Benevolent Society.
External links
- Short biography for Baron de Hirsch Knesset website
- Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...