Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild
Encyclopedia
Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (8 November 1840 – 31 March 1915) was a British
banker and politician
from the international Rothschild
financial dynasty.
(1808-1879) and Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild
(née von Rothschild), grandson of Nathan Mayer Rothschild
after whom he was named, and the great-grandson of Mayer Amschel Rothschild
founder of the dynasty.
He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge
, where he was a friend of the Prince of Wales
, but left without taking a degree.
On 16 April 1867 he married Emma Louise von Rothschild (1844-1935), a cousin from the Rothschild banking family of Germany in Frankfurt
. They had the following children:
de Rothschild, of Tring Park
. Because Anthony had no male heirs, on his death the baronetcy passed to his nephew Nathan Mayer Rothschild. In 1885, he subsequently became a member of the House of Lords
and was created Baron Rothschild
, of Tring
in the County of Hertford
, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. He also was Baron (Freiherr) von/de Rothschild, of the Austrian Empire
, a nobility title he had inherited via his father.
Lord Rothschild was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not previously converted to Christianity. (For example, Benjamin Disraeli had been created Lord Beaconsfield in 1876, but was baptized into Anglicanism at age twelve.) The peerage was inherited by his son Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild.
a close relationship was maintained with Benjamin Disraeli and affairs in Egypt
.
Natty also funded Cecil Rhodes in the development of the British South Africa Company
and the De Beers
diamond conglomerate. He succeeded him as General of the Society of the Elect and later administered Rhodes's estate after his death in 1902 and helped to set up the Rhodes Scholarship
scheme at Oxford University.
A noted philanthropist, Rothschild was heavily involved with the foundation of the Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company
, a model dwellings company
whose aim was to provide decent housing, predominantly for the Jews of Spitalfields
and Whitechapel
. He also served as a trustee of the London Mosque Fund until his death.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
banker and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from the international Rothschild
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
financial dynasty.
Life and family
Known as "Natty", he was the eldest son of Baron Lionel de RothschildLionel de Rothschild
Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild was a British banker and politician.-Biography:The son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Hanna Barent Cohen, he was a member of the prominent Rothschild family....
(1808-1879) and Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild
Charlotte von Rothschild
Charlotte von Rothschild was a German-born British socialite. She was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Naples, but was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany....
(née von Rothschild), grandson of Nathan Mayer Rothschild
Nathan Mayer Rothschild
Nathan Mayer, Freiherr von Rothschild , known as Nathan Mayer Rothschild, was a London financier and one of the founders of the international Rothschild family banking dynasty...
after whom he was named, and the great-grandson of Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Mayer Amschel Rothschild was the founder of the Rothschild family international banking dynasty that became the most successful business family in history. In 2005, he was ranked 7th on the Forbes magazine list of "The Twenty Most Influential Businessmen Of All Time"...
founder of the dynasty.
He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, where he was a friend of the Prince of Wales
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, but left without taking a degree.
On 16 April 1867 he married Emma Louise von Rothschild (1844-1935), a cousin from the Rothschild banking family of Germany in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. They had the following children:
- Lionel WalterWalter Rothschild, 2nd Baron RothschildLionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild FRS , a scion of the Rothschild family, was a British banker, politician, and zoologist.-Biography:...
(1868-1937) - Charlotte Louisa Adela Evelina (1873-1947)
- Nathaniel CharlesCharles RothschildNathaniel Charles Rothschild , known as "Charles", was an English banker and entomologist and a member of the Rothschild family.-Family:...
(1877-1923)
Baron
In 1847, his uncle Anthony Nathan de Rothschild (1810-1876) was created 1st BaronetBaronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
de Rothschild, of Tring Park
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
. Because Anthony had no male heirs, on his death the baronetcy passed to his nephew Nathan Mayer Rothschild. In 1885, he subsequently became a member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and was created Baron Rothschild
Baron Rothschild
Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for Sir Nathan Rothschild, 2nd Baronet, a member of the Rothschild banking family. He was the first person of the Jewish faith to be raised to the peerage...
, of Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
in the County of Hertford
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. He also was Baron (Freiherr) von/de Rothschild, of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, a nobility title he had inherited via his father.
Lord Rothschild was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not previously converted to Christianity. (For example, Benjamin Disraeli had been created Lord Beaconsfield in 1876, but was baptized into Anglicanism at age twelve.) The peerage was inherited by his son Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild.
Work
He worked as a partner in the London branch of the family bank NM Rothschild and Sons and became head of the bank after his father's death in 1879. During his tenure he also maintained its pre-eminent position in private venture finance and in issuing loans to the governments of the USA, Russia and Austria. Following the Rothschilds' funding of the Suez CanalSuez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
a close relationship was maintained with Benjamin Disraeli and affairs in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
.
Natty also funded Cecil Rhodes in the development of the British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
and the De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
diamond conglomerate. He succeeded him as General of the Society of the Elect and later administered Rhodes's estate after his death in 1902 and helped to set up the Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
scheme at Oxford University.
A noted philanthropist, Rothschild was heavily involved with the foundation of the Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company
Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company
The Four Per Cent Industrial Dwellings Company was a philanthropic model dwellings company, formed in London in 1885, during the Victorian era....
, a model dwellings company
Model dwellings company
Model Dwellings Companies were a group of private companies in Victorian Britain that sought to improve the housing conditions of the working classes by building new homes for them, at the same time receiving a competitive rate of return on any investment...
whose aim was to provide decent housing, predominantly for the Jews of Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
and Whitechapel
Whitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
. He also served as a trustee of the London Mosque Fund until his death.
Cultural references
- Appears as a minor character in the historical-mystery novel Stone's FallStone's Fall-Synopsis:An aging BBC reporter approaching retirement in 1953, Matthew Braddock is on a farewell tour, visiting the old Paris bureau. Chancing upon a familiar name in the obituary notices, he decides to attend the funeral of an acquaintance he has not seen for many years. After the service, he is...
, by Iain PearsIain PearsIain Pears is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. He was educated at Warwick School, Warwick, Wadham College and Wolfson College, Oxford. Before writing, he worked as a reporter for the BBC, Channel 4 and ZDF and correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990 in Italy, France, UK and...
.