Baron Alexander von Stieglitz (russian: link=no, Александр Людвигович Штиглиц; 1814–1884) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

financier. He was the first governor of the

State Bank of the Russian Empire The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR; ), doing business as the Bank of Russia (russian: Банк России}), is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on July 13, 1990. The predecessor of the bank can ...

, the predecessor organization to today's

Central Bank of the Russian Federation The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR; ), doing business as the Bank of Russia (russian: Банк России}), is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on July 13, 1990. The predecessor of the bank can ...

Early life and education

Stieglitz was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

to banker Baron

Ludwig von Stieglitz Ludwig von Stieglitz (surname), Stieglitz (Любим Иванович Штиглиц; December 24, 1779 in Arolsen, Waldeck (state), Waldeck, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation; , Saint Petersburg) was a German Jewish businessman in Russia ...

who was a founder of the banking-house "Stieglitz and Co". After completing his education at the

University of Dorpat The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

in what is now

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

, Estonia, he entered the state services as a member of the Manufacture council of the Ministry of Finances of the Russian Empire.

Businessman and civil servant

After the death of his father, Stieglitz inherited the banking-house and succeeded as a banker of the Emperor. In 1840–1850 he successfully sold six 4% government loans to finance the construction of the

Moscow – Saint Petersburg Railway Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and secured a significant foreign loan at the height of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. Stieglitz also owned manufacturing enterprises in

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

and in Catherinehof. In 1846 Stieglitz was elected the chairman of the Exchange's committee. At that post he took part in all financial operation of the

Government of the Russian Empire A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. In 1857 he co-founded the Society of the Russian Railways. In 1860 Stieglitz liquidated all his commercial enterprises and voluntarily withdrew from the post of the chairman of the Exchange's committee. On 31 May 1860 Emperor Alexander II established the State Bank of the Russian Empire and Stieglitz became its first governor. In 1866 he left the state service.

Philanthropy

In 1878 he donated funds to build a museum of applied arts for the benefit of students of the Central School of Technical Drawing, which had been established by him earlier.

Awards

Stieglitz received numerous awards, including the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree, the

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

of the 4th degree and the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

of the 2nd degree.

References

*
Biography at the site of the Bank of Russia
*
Celebrating events in memoriam of Alexander von Stieglitz
*
History of the Russian Exchange
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stieglitz, Alexander Jews from the Russian Empire Bankers from the Russian Empire Central bankers Philanthropists from the Russian Empire University of Tartu alumni Businesspeople from Saint Petersburg 1814 births 1884 deaths 19th-century philanthropists Barons of the Russian Empire