Sir George Albu, 1st Baronet (26 October 1857 – 27 December 1935) was a mining magnate in the diamond and gold industries of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Biography

Lady Albu at wheel of CGV, London April 1905 Northwards, Johannesburg 26.17720S, 28.03650E George Albu was born in Berlin,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1857. The son of Simon Albu (26 February 1830 – 26 February 1911) and Fanny Sternberg (d. 24 October 1912), George and his brother Leopold were German Jews who emigrated to South Africa in 1876. On arrival in Cape Town, George became an assistant at the haberdashery counter in Stuttafords. After some time in Cape Town, they moved to the diamond-fields of Kimberley, accumulated financial interests, and sold out to De Beers at a substantial profit, before settling on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

and becoming a naturalized

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

citizen in 1887. George Albu purchased the ailing Meyer and Charlton Mine, restructured it, and on 30 December 1895 he and his brother established General Mining and Finance Corporation. Naturalized as a UK citizen in 1911, he was created ''1st Baronet Albu of Johannesburg'' on 12 February 1912 — at that time

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 14t ...

cies were bestowed on a large number of Randlords. In 1911 Sir George Albu bought the Parktown mansion, Northwards, (designed by

Herbert Baker Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...

in 1904) for £12,000 (Colonel John Dale Lace and wife Josephine, the previous owners, had paid £21 000 for the house). He held the office of Danish General Consul to Johannesburg in 1913 and was decorated with the Order of the Dannebrog. In the 1960s and 1970s General Mining and Finance Corporation merged with Federale Mynbou and Union Corporation, became

Gencor Gencor Ltd was a South African based mining company. It was formed in 1980 after the merger of the General Mining and Finance Corporation and the Union Corporation. Parts of the company are now owned by Gold Fields and BHP. History Gencor has it ...

, then Billiton, then

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

, one of the largest mining houses in the world, with interests in Borneo, China, Australia, South America and South Africa. Together with

Cecil John Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...

, Barney Barnato, Alfred Beit and others, the Albu brothers belonged to the wealthy and influential

Randlord Randlords were the capitalists who controlled the diamond and gold mining industries in South Africa in its pioneer phase from the 1870s up to World War I. A small number of European financiers, largely of the same generation, gained control of th ...

set. He died in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

in 1935.

Family

George Albu (1857–1935) married Gertrude Frederike Alice Rosendorff (d. 18 April 1950), daughter of Max Rosendorff and Emilie, on 9 December 1888. They produced six children: # Charlotte Frederike Albu d. 28 Nov 1965 with no issue. On 5 September 1933 married Rt. Rev. Wilfred Parker b. 23 January 1883, d. 22 June 1966. # Katherine Victoria Albu. Married in 1913 to Erroll Gordon Hay d. 2 November 1964. # Alice Ernestine Albu. On 4 September 1924 married Captain Nigel James Bengough. Flying Corps in the First World War. ## Sir Piers Henry George Bengough b. 24 May 1929 d. 18 April 2005. OBE 1973, KCVO 1986. Lieutenant-Colonel in The Royal Hussars. In 1952 married Bridget Adams (International Figure Skating Champion 1949). They had two sons. # Captain Walter George Albu b. 23 Jul 1892, d. 29 May 1920. Fought in the First World War. Lieutenant in Royal Irish Fusiliers (Special Reserve). Captain in Royal Air Force. Order of St. Stanislaus of Russia, Croix de Guerre (avec palmes) # Irene Elsie Albu b. 9 Jun 1900, d. 24 Jun 1924. On 7 September 1923 married William Dalrymple, son of Sir William Dalrymple. # Sir George Werner Albu, 2nd Bt. b. 3 Sep 1905, d. 18 Feb 1963 married Kathleen Betty Dicey d. 19 February 1956 ## Georgina Albu b. 9 Feb 1930, d. 8 Aug 1981 ## Susan Nomakepu Albu b. 8 Jun 1932, d. 7 Oct 2011 ## Julia Mary Albu b. 13 Jun 1937 ## Caroline Albu b. 10 Jun 1943 married a Lorentz ## Sir George Albu, 3rd Bt. b. 5 June 1944 married Joan Valerie Millar, daughter of Malcom Millar, on 23 April 1969. Michaelhouse School, Cedara Agricultural College, London Tutorial College, South African Light Horse Regiment. Residence (2003) Glen Hamish Farm, Richmond, Natal ## Camilla Jane Albu b. 22 Aug 1972 Durban. On 4 May 1996 married Gary Neilsen ## Victoria Mary Albu b. 14 Jan 1976 Durban. On 15 Jan 2005 married Willie-James Ward

References

Peerage genealogyYear 5673 for the JewryJohannesburg's early historyUK baronetcies
*''Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa'', Eric Rosenthal, 1967 {{DEFAULTSORT:Albu, George 1857 births 1935 deaths South African mining businesspeople Randlords 19th-century German Jews German emigrants to South Africa Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom