Herbert Stern, 1st Baron Michelham (28 September 1851 – 7 January 1919), known as Sir Herbert Stern, Bt, between July and December 1905, was a British financier, philanthropist and a member of the Stern banking family.

Background

Stern was the son of Hermann de Stern, a German-born banker, head of the

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

Stern Brothers (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) and Portuguese baron, and Julia Goldsmid. He was the first cousin of Lord Wandsworth and Sir Edward Stern.

Career

On his father's death, in October 1887, Stern inherited the Portuguese barony and a fortune of £2 million, which he substantially increased during his lifetime. He was a prominent philanthropist, contributing to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

and funding Adrian Jones' quadriga atop Wellington Arch via an anonymous donation of approximately £20,000. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he acquired Hotel Astoria in Paris to be used as a hospital for British troops. He was also involved in

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

and is known for having bred Plucky Liege, one of the most important

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s of the 20th century. Stern was created a Baronet, of Strawberry Hill in the Parish of Twickenham and County of Middlesex, in July 1905 and raised to the peerage as Baron Michelham, of

Hellingly Hellingly ( ) is a village, and can also refer to a civil parish, and to a district ward, in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. Geography Hellingly contains the confluence of the River Cuckmere and one of its tributaries, the Bull ...

in the County of Sussex, in December of the same year. Lord Michelham was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

(KCVO) in 1912.

Personal life

Lord Michelham died in Paris in January 1919, aged 67, and was succeeded by his son, Herman.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michelham, Herbert Stern, 1st Baron 1851 births 1919 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Jewish British politicians Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Members of London County Council English people of German-Jewish descent English Jews Stern family (banking) People from Hellingly Peers created by Edward VII Burials at Balls Pond Road Cemetery