Alfred de Rothschild

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Alfred de Rothschild
N M Rothschild & Sons, Bank of England, National Gallery, Wallace Collection
PartnerMarie Boyer
ChildrenAlmina
Parent(s)Lionel Freiherr de Rothschild
Charlotte von Rothschild
AwardsRoyal Victorian Order (1902)
Legion of Honour
Order of the Crown (Prussia)
Order of Franz Joseph

Alfred Charles

Rothschild family
.

Education

As a young man, Alfred attended

King Edward VII. Alfred left Cambridge University
without a degree.

Banking career

At the age of 21, Alfred took up employment at the

N.M. Rothschild Bank
at New Court in London. It was there that he learnt the business of banking from his father and made valuable contacts in European banking circles.

In 1868, at the age of 26, Alfred became a director of the Bank of England, a post he held for 20 years, until 1889. In 1892, he represented the British Government at the International Monetary Conference in Brussels.

His career at the Bank of England was described in The Rothschilds: A Family of Fortune, by Virginia Cowles:

Alfred was not only a partner at New Court but a Director of the Bank of England, an appointment he had been given in 1868 because the Governor felt it would not be a bad thing to keep in close touch with the Rothschilds. The relationship came to an abrupt end of 1889, however, over a slightly unorthodox situation. Alfred had paid a very high price for a French eighteenth-century painting after being assured by the dealer that he, too, had been forced to pay an excessive sum for it and was making only a marginal profit. A day or two later Alfred discovered that the dealer had an account with the Bank of England. He could not resist taking a peep to see what, in fact, the man had given for the painting. He was outraged when he discovered that he had been charged a price 'out of all proportion to decency!' He spread the story about London and, not surprisingly, got the sack from Threadneedle Street.[2]

He was the first Jew to be a Director of the Bank of England, and, after his departure, no other Jew was on the directorate for more than fifty years.

Upon the death of his father in 1879, Alfred inherited a 1,400-acre (570 ha) estate centred on

High Sheriff of the County of London
.

Alfred played a part in British diplomacy, serving as British delegate at an international conference on bimetallism in 1892, and later facilitating a series of informal meetings between ministers and contacts at the German Embassy with a view to Anglo-German rapprochement.

Consul-General for Austria in London.[4]

Honours

Austria-Hungary.[1]

Philanthropy

A patron of the arts, he donated money to the

National Gallery, London for acquisitions. He was trustee of both that gallery and the Wallace Collection.[4]

Daughter

Alfred de Rothschild probably had an illegitimate child from a long-term relationship with a Mrs. Maria ("Mina") Boyer Wombwell. The birth certificate states her father as "Frederick C. Wombwell", but Alfred always acted as her guardian, and the girl's name, Almina, suggests the combination of "Al" and "Mina". However, it has also been assumed that Alfred was primarily homosexual, and it is possible that Alfred encouraged an illusion of paternity as a way of deflecting attention from his sexuality.[7]

In 1895, at age 19, Almina married

Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.[11]

In later life, Alfred did not enjoy good health and he died after a short illness on 31 January 1918, aged 75. He was interred in the

£77.7 million in 2021 pounds).[8][10]

Bibliography

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Rothschild, Alfred Charles (RTST860AC)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. OCLC 1152736386
    .
  3. OCLC 760122672
    . Chapter: '"He interviews the Ambassadors" : Alfred de Rothschild, High Finance and High Politics in Victorian and Edwardian Britain', T G Ottes.
  4. ^ a b Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1913. Kelly's. p. 1487.
  5. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36844. London. 12 August 1902. p. 8.
  6. ^ "No. 27467". The London Gazette. 22 August 1902. p. 5461.
  7. ^ Wilson, Derek A. Rothschild: A Story of Wealth and Power, André Deutsch, London 1988. (Revised edition 1994) pp 261-2
  8. ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Lady Almina and The Real Downton Abbey". Highclerecastle.co.uk. Highclere Castle. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  10. ^ a b Pall Mall Gazette, Wednesday 6 March 1918, page: 5.
  11. OCLC 828501310
    .

External links


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alfred_de_Rothschild&oldid=1220481286"