Nathan Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild
Ferdinand James von Rothschild | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born | Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild 8 November 1840 London, England |
Died | 31 March 1915 London, England | (aged 74)
Resting place | Willesden Jewish Cemetery |
Political party | Liberal then Liberal Unionist then Conservative |
Spouse |
Emma Louise von Rothschild
(m. 1867) |
Children | Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild Evelina Rothschild-Behrens Charles Rothschild |
Parent(s) | Lionel de Rothschild Charlotte von Rothschild |
Relatives | Nathan Mayer Rothschild (grandfather) Mayer Amschel Rothschild (great-grandfather) |
Residence(s) | 148 Piccadilly, London |
Education | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Occupation | Banker |
Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild,
Early life
Nathaniel Mayer Rothschild was the eldest son of Baron
In his youth, Rothschild was a Captain in the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry.[3] He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge,[4] where he was a friend of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), but left without taking a degree.
Career
Rothschild worked as a partner in the London branch of the family bank,
Rothschild also funded Cecil Rhodes in the development of the British South Africa Company and the De Beers diamond conglomerate. He later administered Rhodes' estate after Rhodes' death in 1902 and helped to set up the Rhodes Scholarship scheme at the University of Oxford. He was a prominent member of the Round Table movement, created in 1909.
A noted philanthropist, Rothschild was heavily involved with the foundation of the
In the
House of Commons
From 1865 to 1885, Nathan Rothschild sat in the House of Commons as
Baron Rothschild
In 1847, his uncle
In 1885, Rothschild became a member of the House of Lords when he was created Baron Rothschild, of Tring in the County of Hertford, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.[13] He was also a hereditary Freiherr (baron) of the Austrian Empire, a noble title that he had inherited via his father.[2] In 1838, Queen Victoria had authorized the use of this Austrian title in the United Kingdom.[1]
When he was raised to the peerage by Gladstone,[7] Rothschild was the first Jewish member of the House of Lords not to have previously converted to Christianity. (Disraeli had been created Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876, but he was baptised into Anglicanism at age twelve.)
In common with the rest of his family, Rothschild joined the breakaway Liberal Unionist Party, formed in 1886 by Joseph Chamberlain, which ultimately merged into the Conservative Party.[14]
In 1909, he was famously derided by David Lloyd George, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, over his opposition to the People's Budget, when the latter said, at a meeting at the Holborn Restaurant on 24 June that year: "I really think we are having too much Lord Rothschild. Are we to have all ways of reform, financial and social, blocked, simply by a notice-board; 'No Thoroughfare. By Order of Nathaniel Rothschild'?"[15] Rothschild recommended the Lords reject the Parliament Bill, which was, however, passed.[16]
In 1914, after the outbreak of World War I, Rothschild was consulted for economic advice by Lloyd George. At his first invitation to confer at the Treasury, when asked what could be done to raise more money for the war effort, Rothschild reportedly answered: "Tax the rich, and tax them heavily."[17]
Personal life
On 16 April 1867, he married Emma Louise von Rothschild (1844–1935), a double first cousin (i.e., they shared both sets of grandparents) from the Rothschild banking family of Germany in Frankfurt.[18] They had three children:
- Lionel Walter Rothschild (1868–1937), who never married but had two mistresses, one of whom bore him a daughter.[19]
- Evelina Rothschild-Behrens (1873–1947)
- Nathaniel Charles Rothschild (1877–1923), who married Rózsika Edle von Wertheimstein (1870–1940)
He died in London, five days after an operation, on 31 March 1915 and was buried at Willesden Jewish Cemetery.[20] Following his death, the peerage was inherited by his son, Lionel Walter Rothschild.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Baron of the Austrian Empire". Bulletins of State Intelligence. 1838. p. 220.
- ^ a b "Rothschild baronets". Debrett's illustrated baronetage and knightage. 1880. p. 384.
- ^ Kelly's Handbook to the Titled, Landed and Official Classes, 1913. Kelly's. p. 1487.
- ^ "Rothschild, Nathaniel Mayer (RTST859NM)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ISBN 978-1-4464-8306-0.
- ^ East London Mosque & London Muslim Centre. History display at their premises at 46–92 Whitechapel Road, London as seen on 28 April 2011.
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. .
- ^ "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5. Retrieved 20 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No. 27464". The London Gazette. 12 August 1902. p. 5173.
- ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36844. London. 12 August 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 20 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No. 27467". The London Gazette. 22 August 1902. p. 5461.
- ^ "No. 20684". The London Gazette. 18 December 1864. p. 5885.
- ^ "No. 25486". The London Gazette. 3 July 1885. p. 3060.
- ^ Roth 1939, p. 128.
- ^ Roth 1939, p. 130.
- ^ Roth 1939, p. 131.
- ^ Roth 1939, pp. 275–276.
- ^ "Nathaniel Mayer (Natty) de Rothschild (1840-1915)| Rothschild Family". family.rothschildarchive.org. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
- ^ Hannah Rothschild, "The Butterfly Effect", Archived 28 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine, pages 18-21.
- ^ Roth 1939, pp. 277–278.
Sources
- Cooper, John (2015). The Unexpected Story of Nathaniel Rothschild. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-4729-1707-2.
- Roth, Cecil (1939). The Magnificent Rothschilds. R. Hale.
- Valynseele, Joseph; Mars, Henri-Claude (2004). Le Sang des Rothschild (in French). ISBN 978-2-908003-22-2.