Rachel, Countess d'Avigdor (19 September 1816 – 5 November 1896) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

philanthropist and communal worker. Rachel was the second daughter of Isabel and Sir

Isaac Lyon Goldsmid Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, 1st Baronet (13 January 1778 – 27 April 1859) was a financier and one of the leading figures in the Jewish emancipation in the United Kingdom, who became the first British Jew to receive a hereditary title. Biography ...

, and sister of Anna Maria, Frederick, and Francis Goldsmid. She was privately educated by some of the most eminent teachers of the time, including

Thomas Campbell Thomas Campbell may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Thomas Campbell (poet) (1777–1844), Scottish poet * Thomas Campbell (sculptor) (1790–1858), Scottish sculptor * Thomas Campbell (visual artist) (born 1969), California-based visual artist ...

, the poet. In June, 1840, she was married to , son of Grand Sanhedrin member Isaac Samuel d'Avigdor. Shortly after their marriage, the Count and Countess d'Avigdor went to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where were born their three sons and one daughter. Her husband, from whom she eventually separated, returned to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and became a personal friend of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

, who conferred upon him the title of Duke of Acquaviva. The Countess took a deep interest in the communal institutions of the English metropolis. She was at one time president of the Ladies' Committee of the Jews' Deaf and Dumb Home and honorary secretary of the West End Charity, as well as a member of the committees of the Jewish Convalescent Home, of the workhouse committee of the Jewish Board of Guardians, and of the West End Sabbath School. Both the Bayswater Jewish Schools and the Jews' Deaf and Dumb Home owed their inception principally to her advocacy. She was also a signatory of the first mass Votes for Women petition in Britain in 1866.

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1816 births 1896 deaths Burials at Balls Pond Road Cemetery British countesses Jewish British philanthropists Jewish women philanthropists Philanthropists from London Goldsmid family {{UK-bio-stub

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