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Sir Edgar Speyer, 1st Baronet (7 September 1862 – 16 February 1932) was an American-born
financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
. Barker 2004. He became a British subject in 1892 and was chairman of
Speyer Brothers The Speyer family is a prominent Jewish family of German descent. It can be traced back to Michael Isaac Speyer (1644–1692), who had briefly been the head of the Jewish community in Frankfurt am Main in 1691–92. The family originates from Spe ...
, the British branch of the Speyer family's international finance house, and a partner in the German and American branches. He was chairman of the
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...
(UERL, forerunner of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The U ...
) from 1906 to 1915, a period during which the company opened three underground railway lines, electrified a fourth and took over two more. Speyer was a supporter of the musical arts and a friend of several leading composers, including
Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
,
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...
and
Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
. He was chairman of the Classical Music Society for ten years, and he largely funded the Promenade Concerts between 1902 and 1914. His non-musical charitable activities included being honorary treasurer of the fund for Captain Scott's
Antarctic expedition This list of Antarctic expeditions is a chronological list of expeditions involving Antarctica. Although the existence of a southern continent had been hypothesized as early as the writings of Ptolemy in the 1st century AD, the South Pole was no ...
. For his philanthropy he was made a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in 1906 and a
Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
in 1909. After the start of the
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, he became the subject of anti-German attacks in the Press. In 1915, Speyer offered to resign from the Privy Council and to relinquish his baronetcy, but the Prime Minister turned down the offer. He resigned as chairman of the UERL and went to the United States. In 1921, the British government investigated accusations that Speyer had traded with the enemy during the war, and had participated in other wartime conduct incompatible with his status as a British subject. Speyer denied the charges, but his naturalisation was revoked and he was struck off the list of members of the Privy Council.


Life to 1914


Family

Speyer was born on 7 September 1862 in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, the second son of
German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
parents, Gustav Speyer and Sophia Speyer (née Rubino) from
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
. His father was an international banker with businesses in Frankfurt, New York and London. Speyer was educated at the
Realgymnasium ''Gymnasium'' (; German plural: ''Gymnasien''), in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being '' Hauptschule'' (lowest) and '' Realschule'' (middle). ''Gymn ...
in Frankfurt. On 10 February 1902, in Hamburg, Speyer married the American violinist Leonora von Stosch. They had met at a concert held by Maude Valérie White at which Leonora performed. Adams 2007, p. 231. They had three daughters: Pamela, Leonora, and Vivien.


Financier

In 1884, Speyer became a partner in each of his father's businesses. He headed the Frankfurt office before taking control of the London office, Speyer Brothers, in 1887. His older brother,
James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
, headed the New York company. The firm specialised in
arbitrage In economics and finance, arbitrage (, ) is the practice of taking advantage of a difference in prices in two or more markets; striking a combination of matching deals to capitalise on the difference, the profit being the difference between t ...
with Europe and the United States, and the financing of railway projects. On 29 February 1892, Speyer became a
naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
British citizen. Speyer Brothers' involvement in railway finance brought Speyer into contact with American
Charles Yerkes Charles Tyson Yerkes Jr. ( ; June 25, 1837 – December 29, 1905) was an American financier. He played a part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicago and London. Philadelphia Yerkes was born into a Quaker family in the Northern Liberties ...
in 1900. In Chicago, Yerkes had led the development of the city's urban transport system, and he went to London to capitalise on the emerging opportunities for new deep-level underground "tube" railways there. He and Speyer headed a consortium of international investors involved in the construction of three of London's underground railways and the
electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histo ...
of a fourth. With Yerkes as chairman, the
Underground Electric Railways Company of London The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (UERL), known operationally as the Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an und ...
(UERL) was established in 1902 with a
capitalisation Capitalization (American English) or capitalisation (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhe ...
of £5 million, the majority of shares sold to overseas investors. Further share issues followed, which, by 1903, raised a total of £18 million (£ today) to be used across all of the UERL's projects. Yerkes died in December 1905, and Speyer took his place as chairman of the UERL. (registration required). By 1907, the three new railways had opened and the electrification works had been completed. Despite the UERL's engineering success in carrying out the works in such a short time, the company was in a difficult financial position. The preliminary estimates of passenger numbers proved to be over optimistic and revenues were not covering operating costs. After bailing out the company, Speyer, with
Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
Albert Stanley, struggled for a number of years to restore its finances. This was finally achieved with the purchase of the London General Omnibus Company in 1912, as its profits could be used to offset losses elsewhere in the group. In November 1912, Speyer further consolidated the UERL's control of London's underground railways when he negotiated the purchase of London's two other main tube railways, the
City and South London Railway The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first successful deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use electric traction. The railway was originally intended for cable-hauled trains, but owing ...
and the
Central London Railway The Central London Railway (CLR), also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railwayA "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a cylindrical tunnel by the use of a tunnelling shield, usually deep below g ...
.


Philanthropist and patron

As head of the London arm of the family businesses, Speyer became wealthy. He owned a pair of neighbouring houses at 44 and 46 Grosvenor Street,
Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world ...
, that he had rebuilt as a single residence at the cost of £150,000 (equivalent to £ in ). (registration required). The rebuilding work was carried out by
Detmar Blow Detmar Jellings Blow (24 November 1867 – 7 February 1939) was a British architect of the early 20th century, who designed principally in the Arts and Crafts movement, arts and crafts style. His clients belonged chiefly to the British aristocra ...
and Fernand Billery in 1910 and 1911; the architects gave the house a " Beaux-Arts" style
portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a buildi ...
façade and lavish interiors including 11 bedrooms and a large music room. Sheppard 1980, pp.44–57. Turner 1904, p. 544. Speyer also had a large country house built in 1908, in the fashionable Edwardian resort of Overstrand on the
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...
coast. The house was named " Sea Marge" (meaning land that borders the sea) and was designed in the Mock Tudor style, surrounded by gardens. To decorate his homes, Speyer collected works of art, furniture and decorative items from across Europe. He also commissioned art works, including his wife's portrait, painted by
John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and mor ...
in 1907, and his own portrait, painted by
William Orpen Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do i ...
, which was exhibited at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...
in 1914. Like his cousin Edward Speyer, Edgar was a music lover and patron of the arts, frequently holding concerts in his home. He was friends with composers Edward Elgar,
Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
, Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy and
Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
, and with the German cellist and composer
Hugo Becker Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden. Biogr ...
. Speyer owned violins by
Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are ...
and
Giuseppe Guarneri Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his ...
, used by his wife in public and private performances. Following financial problems experienced by Robert Newman, Speyer held the position of chairman of the Queen's Hall Concert board from 1902 to 1914, paying £2,000 per year () to underwrite the Promenade Concerts. Speyer increased rehearsal time for the Queen's Hall Orchestra and was involved in the challenge to the deputy system then operating, stopping musicians from sending under-prepared substitutes to perform in their places. He was described by Bird as "the sole monetary force which kept the Queen's Hall Orchestra afloat". Bird 1982, p. 133. Speyer's control of the Queen's Hall enabled him to attract musicians and composers to perform modern new works at his concerts including Strauss, whom he brought to London to conduct the first English performance of ''
A Hero's Life ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be au ...
'', and
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
, whose ''
Five Orchestral Pieces The ''Five Pieces for Orchestra'' (''Fünf Orchesterstücke''), Op. 16, were composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1909, and first performed in London in 1912. The titles of the pieces, reluctantly added by the composer after the work's completion upo ...
'' received its première in 1912. Moore 1984, p. 383. Becker dedicated ''Three Pieces for Cello with Piano Accompaniment'' to Speyer in recognition of their friendship, and Strauss dedicated his opera ''
Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...
'' to him. Speyer also contributed £2,500 to the foundation of Whitechapel Art Gallery where he was a trustee for 15 years. He was chairman of the Nervous Diseases Research Fund, president of Poplar Hospital, and sat on the board of the
King Edward's Hospital Fund The King's Fund is an independent think tank, which is involved with work relating to the health system in England. It organises conferences and other events. Since 1997, they have jointly funded a yearly award system with GlaxoSmithKline. T ...
, to which he donated £25,000 in 1902 (equivalent to £ in ). In December 1904, having read of the loss in a newspaper article, Speyer donated £5,700 to replace all of the funds lost by investors in the failure of a penny
savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to ...
at
Needham Market Needham Market is a town in Suffolk, England. The town of Needham, Massachusetts, was named after Needham Market. History It initially grew around the wool combing industry, until the onset of the plague, which swept the town from 1663 to 1665. ...
,
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...
. From 1909, Speyer was honorary treasurer of the fund raised to finance
Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
's 1910 British Antarctic Expedition to which he donated £1,000 of the £40,000 that was required. Speyer was prepared to take personal responsibility for a share of the liabilities of the expedition, although the money raised from public donations was sufficient. Huxley 1913, pp. 501–502. Mount Speyer in Antarctica is named in his honour. One of Scott's last letters was written to Speyer. It was found when Scott's body was recovered from his last camp after his unsuccessful return from the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
.Letter of 16 March 1912, quoted in Turley 1914, p. 424. On 14 July 1906, Speyer was created a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
. Politically, Speyer was a Liberal. He was a member of the Reform Club, (registration required). and a friend of H. H. Asquith, by whose recommendation he was made a
Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
(PC) in 1909. In 1911, he was awarded the Order of the Crown, 2nd class by
Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Emp ...
. Friedenwald 1911, p. 144.


Life after 1914


Anti-German pressure

The end of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century saw rising
anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began w ...
in Britain. As the naval arms race between Britain and Germany escalated, distrust of Germans and those of German origin was stirred-up by press warnings of the rising military threat from Germany. This was developed further in popular magazines such as the ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...
'' and in novels such as Erskine Childers' ''
The Riddle of the Sands ''The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service'' is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influenti ...
'' and invasion novels such as William Le Queux's ''
The Invasion of 1910 ''The Invasion of 1910'' is a 1906 novel written mainly by William Le Queux (along with H. W. Wilson providing the naval chapters). It is one of the most famous examples of invasion literature. It is viewed by some as an example of pre-World W ...
''. Following the British declaration of war with Germany on 4 August 1914, Speyer resigned as a partner of the Frankfurt branch of the bank. After a Royal Proclamation on 11 September 1914 requiring British subjects to have no links with companies doing business with Germany, Speyer resigned as a partner of the American bank. (registration required). Nonetheless, suspicions regarding Speyer's German parentage led to a hate campaign against him. Crowds gathered outside his home and jeered visitors. Accusations of his disloyalty and treachery appeared in the Press, and he was accused of signalling to German submarines from his Norfolk house. Lady Speyer was ostracised from societies and associations of which she had formerly been a member. Speyer was asked to resign from the board of the Poplar Hospital due to threats of substantial reductions in donations if he remained. The couple was asked to remove their children from school as other parents were threatening to remove theirs. Benson 1932, p. 249. Speyer ignored a call to write one of the "loyalty letters" that Sir
Arthur Pinero Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (24 May 185523 November 1934) was an English playwright and, early in his career, actor. Pinero was drawn to the theatre from an early age, and became a professional actor at the age of 19. He gained experience as a supp ...
proposed be provided by prominent naturalised citizens of German origin. Holmes 1991, p. 27. (registration required). Instead, on 17 May 1915, Speyer wrote to Asquith, then Prime Minister, asking him to accept his resignation as a Privy Counsellor and to revoke his baronetcy, stating:
Nothing is harder to bear than a sense of injustice that finds no vent in expression. For the last nine months I have kept silence and treated with disdain the charges of disloyalty and suggestions of treachery made against me in the Press and elsewhere. But I can keep silence no longer, for these charges and suggestion have now been repeated by public men who have not scrupled to use their position to inflame the overstrained feelings of the people. I am not a man who can be driven or drummed by threats or abuse into an attitude of justification. But I consider it due to my honour as a loyal British subject and my personal dignity as a man to retire all my public positions. I therefore write to ask you to accept my resignation as a Privy Councillor and to revoke my baronetcy. (registration required).
He resigned as chairman of the UERL and from the boards of the King Edward's Hospital Fund, the Poplar Hospital and the Whitechapel Art Gallery. (registration required). It is doubtful whether it was possible for Speyer to resign from the Privy Council or as a baronet, there being no normal mechanism to do so, (registration required). but the Prime Minister's response was supportive: "I have known you long, and well enough to estimate at their true value these baseless and malignant imputations upon your loyalty to the British Crown. The King is not prepared to take any step such as you suggest in regard to the marks of distinction which you have received in recognition of public services and philanthropic munificence." (registration required). On 26 May 1915, Speyer and his family left for America. In June 1915, Sir George Makgill, Secretary of the Anti-German Union, applied for permission from the High Court to issue ''
quo warranto In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, o ...
''
writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, ...
s against Speyer and Sir Ernest Cassel, a German-born Privy Counsellor, requiring them to prove their right to hold that position. (registration required). Makgill's claim was that the
Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, be ...
prevented a person born outside Britain or its
dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s from being a Privy Counsellor. In December 1915,
Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ...
Lord Reading rejected the application on the grounds that the relevant sections of the Act of Settlement had been repealed by later legislation. Walker-Smith 1934, pp. 346–352.


Revocation of naturalisation

On 2 August 1918, in a House of Lords debate on the Denaturalisation Bill, the subject of Speyer's membership of the Privy Council was brought up by Lord Lincolnshire, who condemned "the brutal and insolent German manner in which Sir Edgar Speyer had resigned his dignity."
Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...
announced that the Home Office was examining his membership of the council. (registration required). Speyer again offered the Prime Minister, then
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
, his resignation from the council, but received no response. (registration required). Following an investigation into Speyer's wartime conduct held ''
in camera ''In camera'' (; Latin: "in a chamber"). is a legal term that means ''in private''. The same meaning is sometimes expressed in the English equivalent: ''in chambers''. Generally, ''in-camera'' describes court cases, parts of it, or process ...
'' by the Home Office's ''Certificates of Naturalisation (Revocation) Committee'', Speyer's naturalisation was revoked by an order dated 1 December 1921. On 13 December 1921 an order was issued by King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...
for Speyer to be struck off the list of the Privy Council. The next person to be struck off the list was Elliot Morley in 2011, though others resigned in the intervening period. The committee decided that Speyer had "shown himself by act and speech to be disaffected and disloyal to His Majesty; and ad.. unlawfully communicated with subjects of an enemy State and associated with a business which was to his knowledge carried on in such manner as to assist the enemy in such war." The committee's final opinion was "that the continuance of Sir Edgar Speyer's certificate is not conducive to the public good." Lady Speyer and the couple's children also lost their British nationality. The report of the committee was published on 7 January 1922. The committee had considered nine issues in making its decision: (registration required). #Retirement from Speyer & Co. – it was decided that Speyer had been slow and reluctant to resign as a partner of the American bank of which he was still in partnership with his German brother-in-law, Edward Beit von Speyer. #Association with enemy traffic – Speyer Brothers had continued to trade jointly with a Dutch firm, Teixeira de Mattos Brothers, between February and June 1915. As they were based in a neutral country, Teixeira had continued to trade with German businesses. The committee calculated that Speyer Brothers had made £1,000 by these trades, despite an inspection of the company's accounts showing no trade with Germany. It concluded that "Sir Edgar Speyer seems to have preferred his private financial interests to the prompt discharge of his duty to the State." #Communication with enemy subjects – Speyer had continued to correspond with his German brother-in-law throughout the war. #Evasion of the censorship – in his correspondence with his brother-in-law, Speyer had used various means including aliases and intermediaries to avoid the censor inspecting his letters. #Proposed return to Berlin – the contents of intercepted letters from Edward Beit von Speyer suggested that Speyer had proposed living in Germany after the war. Speyer denied this and stated that the meaning of the letters had been misconstrued in the absence of his side of the correspondence being before the committee. #Association with Muck – while living in America Speyer had become friendly with
Karl Muck Karl Muck (October 22, 1859 – March 3, 1940) was a German-born conductor of Classical music. He based his activities principally in Europe and mostly in opera. His American career comprised two stints at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). ...
, the German conductor of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1 ...
, who remained strongly pro-German even after the United States entered the war. Unknown to Speyer, who stated that their friendship was based on a shared love of music, Muck was suspected of being a German agent. #Association with Koren – in America, Speyer was friendly with
John Koren John Koren (1861–1923) was an American clergyman and statistician. Education and career John Koren was born in Iowa as one of nine children of the Norwegian-American church leader Ulrik Vilhelm Koren. He was an 1879 graduate of Luther Colleg ...
, an American statistician who represented the United States on the International Prisons Commission. In 1916, Speyer had funded a fact-finding trip by Koren to Europe, during which Koren visited Germany and met Speyer's sister and friends. Although the committee considered the trip strange, they drew no inference of disloyalty from the events. #The Boston Journal – in April 1917, on the advice of John Koren, Speyer had provided a loan to '' The Boston Journal'' newspaper to prevent it from going out of business. The newspaper had printed some articles of a pro-German nature and the committee thought it imprudent but not disloyal of Speyer to have lent the money. #Paying money to enemy subjects – some of Speyer's friends had made claims at the Frankfurt bank for payment of sums due to them that were in the hands of Speyer in London. Speyer had authorised the payments, although this was not allowed by the wartime regulations. The committee commented that in similar circumstances it had shown leniency to others doing the same thing, and would not have attached great importance to the matter if it had stood alone. On 7 January 1922, Speyer's partners published a letter supporting Speyer and rejecting the implications of his correspondence with his German relatives, stating that he was "incapable of any act of treachery against the country of his adoption". Two days later, Speyer also issued a statement responding to the report and rebutting the committee's interpretation of the facts. He stated that he had been advised of the committee's investigation in 1919 and, after considerable delay by the Home Office, had persuaded it to carry out an investigation in America into allegations made against his conduct there. These investigations, he stated, had demonstrated that the allegations were false, but, after he returned to Britain for the formal hearing in 1921, a further series of allegations were presented regarding his business transactions. Speyer stated that the issues involved were of a trivial nature and were similar to those encountered by other British banks which had traded without censure. He stated that "the whole thing is neither more nor less than the culmination of years of political persecution. The Home Secretary simply dared not give me the vindication to which I was entitled." He challenged the government to publish the evidence presented, and "to point to a strip of material evidence that would induce any fairminded man to support the monstrous conclusions of this report".


Final years

In January 1920, Speyer Brothers sold its shareholding in the UERL for approximately £1 million (£ today). (registration required). A month later, Speyer put the Grosvenor Street house up for sale although it did not reach its reserve price at auction. On 1 April 1922, Speyer and his remaining partner in the London bank, Henry William Brown, dissolved Speyer Brothers. The Grosvenor Street house was eventually sold in early 1923 and became the American Women's club. (subscription required) and later the Embassy of Japan. Sheppard 1980, pp.44–57. Speyer rejoined the surviving American and German branches of the family bank and continued to live in New York. In 1929, he lived in Washington Square. Klein 2003, p. 212. He died on 16 February 1932 in Berlin, after having travelled there for an operation on his nose. (subscription required). He was buried in Dahlem, Berlin. He had continued to hold his baronetcy, although it became extinct with his death as he had no male heirs. After his death, Speyer's UK estate was assessed at £3,362 and his US estate at $245,287, equivalent to a net worth of approximately £ and $ today.


Legacy

Speyer's two principal legacies are the three deep-level tube lines of the London Underground, and the Promenade Concerts. The former might not have been built without the finance he raised with Yerkes, and would have struggled without his chairmanship. The latter may have failed in the early 20th century without his financial support. The tube lines now form the central sections of the Underground's Northern,
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cou ...
and
Bakerloo The Bakerloo line () is a London Underground line that goes from in suburban north-west London to in south London, via the West End. Printed in brown on the Tube map, it serves 25 stations, 15 of which are underground, over . It runs partly ...
lines. After Speyer's funding of the Promenade Concerts ended, they were taken over by music publishers Chappell & Co. and, in 1927, by the BBC. Jacobs 2004. The characters of Sir Hermann and Lady Aline Gurtner in
E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer. Early life E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, the fifth child of the headma ...
's 1919 novel ''Robin Linnet'' were based on Sir Edgar and Lady Speyer. Rintoul 1993, pp. 852–853. Leanne Langley suggests that the character of Appleton, a villainous stockbroker, in John Buchan's '' The Thirty-Nine Steps'' may have been based on Speyer. After the American Women's club moved out, his London home served as the Japanese Embassy for some years and is now the offices of stockbrokers Killik & Co. It is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
. The Sea Marge was sold after his death and became a hotel in 1935 and, between 1955 and 1990, a home for the elderly. It re-opened as a hotel in 1996 and is listed Grade II. After the Speyers returned to America, Leonora began writing poetry and won the
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, publishe ...
in 1927. She died in 1956. The Speyers' three daughters returned to Britain. Pamela Speyer married Count Hugo Moy in 1926, but was widowed shortly after when he was killed in a hunting accident. Liebmann 2015, p. 44. She died in Sussex in 1985. Lentin 2013, p. 177. Leonora was married for less than a year and then lived with concert pianist Maria Donska and died in Kent in 1987. Vivien came to Britain as a member of the United States Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and died in
Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County and Connecticut , coordinates ...
, in 2001.


See also

* Joseph Jonas


Notes and references


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Speyer, Edgar 1862 births 1932 deaths American bankers American emigrants to England American people of German-Jewish descent Philanthropists from New York (state) Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British bankers British Jews British philanthropists British people of German-Jewish descent History of the London Underground People expelled from the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom People associated with transport in London Businesspeople from New York City