Dorothy de Rothschild (née Pinto; 7 March 1895 – 10 December 1988) 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 ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and activist for

Jew 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""T ...

ish affairs who married into the wealthy

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

banking family. Mathilde Dorothy de Rothschild was born on 7 March 1895 in London, the daughter of Eugene Pinto (1854–1932) and Catherine Pinto ''née'' Cohen (1872–1939). Known to her friends as "Dolly", she married her cousin James Armand de Rothschild (known as Jimmy) at the age of 17 in 1913. He was 35 years old, the son of

Edmond James de Rothschild Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (Hebrew: הברון אברהם אדמונד בנימין ג'יימס רוטשילד - ''HaBaron Avraham Edmond Binyamin Ya'akov Rotshield''; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French memb ...

of the Paris branch of the Rothschild family. In 1922 James de Rothschild inherited Waddesdon Manor in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

. This became their country home. They also had a London house in St James's Square. Dorothy de Rothschild assisted her husband in his political campaigns, particularly from 1929 to 1945 when he was Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for the Isle of Ely constituency. After his death in 1957, Waddesdon Manor was bequeathed to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, but the surrounding estate and smaller mansion at Eythrope in Buckinghamshire were retained by Mrs. de Rothschild and bequeathed to her husband's great nephew

Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild Nathaniel Charles Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild, (born 29 April 1936) is a British peer, investment banker and a member of the Rothschild banking family. Now mostly retired, he has held many important roles in business, finance ...

. She remained a strong influence on the preservation and development of the house and collections at Waddesdon. Dorothy de Rothschild continued the

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

interests of her father-in-law and husband, and was a close friend of

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...

. She became chairman of Yad Hanadiv, the Rothschild family charities in Israel, and saw through her husband's gift of funds to build the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...

and her own gift of the

Supreme Court of Israel ar, المحكمة العليا , image = Emblem of Israel dark blue full.svg , imagesize = 100px , caption = Emblem of Israel , motto = , established = , location = Givat Ram, Jerusalem , coordina ...

building. At her death in 1988, she left £94,117,964 (equivalent to £ million in ), the largest probated estate to that date in England and Wales. She is buried at

Willesden Jewish Cemetery The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the ...

References

Sources

* Obituary, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 12 December 1988 * Mrs James de Rothschild – ''Rothschilds at Waddesdon Manor'' (Collins, 1979);

External links

Obituary
''New York Times'', December 13, 1988 *
Pinto family tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Dorothy de Philanthropists from London Women philanthropists British people of Egyptian-Jewish descent Dorothy de Rothschild 1895 births 1988 deaths British Zionists Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery English Jews People from Aylesbury Vale Waddesdon Manor