Alfred Moritz Mond, 1st Baron Melchett,
PC,
FRS,
DL (23 October 1868 – 27 December 1930), known as Sir Alfred Mond, Bt between 1910 and 1928, was a British
industrialist, financier and politician. In his later life he became an active
Zionist.
Early life and education
Mond was born in
Farnworth, Widnes, Lancashire, England, the younger son of
Ludwig Mond, a chemist and industrialist who had emigrated from Germany, and his wife Frieda, née Löwenthal, both of
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish extraction. He was educated at
Cheltenham College and
St. John's College, Cambridge, but failed his natural sciences
tripos. He then studied law at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
and was called to the
bar by the
Inner Temple in 1894.
[Greenaway, Frank (2004) 'Mond family ( 1867–1973)', '']Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'', Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
Retrieved on 9 March 2007.
Business career
After his law studies, he joined his father's business
Brunner Mond, Brunner Mond & Company as a director, later becoming its managing director. His other directorships included the
Westminster Bank and the
Industrial Finance Investment Corporation.
One of his major business achievements came in 1926, when he worked to create the merger of four companies to form
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...
(ICI), one of the world's largest industrial corporations at the time.
He became its first chairman.
Mond was also managing director of his father's other company, the
Mond Nickel Company, of which he inherited the majority of shares. He was an active director from the outset, and amongst other growth projects he commissioned the
Coniston smelter and the
Acton, London nickel carbonyl refinery. He saw the sense in
Robert C. Stanley's overture because of the
Frood Mine problem and recommended the merger of his company into the
International Nickel Company, which was accomplished on 1 January 1929. Thereafter he sat as a director of the combined company.
Political career
Mond was also involved in politics and sat as
Liberal Member of Parliament for
Chester from 1906 to 1910, for
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
from 1910 to 1918 and for
Swansea West from 1918 to 1923. He served in the
coalition government of
David Lloyd George as
First Commissioner of Works from 1916 to 1921, and as
Minister of Health (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1921 to 1922. After losing his seat at the
1923 general election, he returned to Parliament as a Liberal for
Carmarthen at
a by-election in August 1924, holding the seat until his elevation to the peerage in 1928. Although a supporter of the "New Liberalism" in his early political career and a "vocal proponent of constructive social reform" in the postwar government, Mond became a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
in January 1926 after falling out with Lloyd George over the former Prime Minister's controversial plans to nationalise agricultural land.
Mond 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 ...
, of Hartford Hill in
Great Budworth in the County of Chester, in 1910, and was admitted to the
Privy Council in 1913.
In 1928 he was raised to the peerage as
Baron Melchett, of
Landford in the County of Southampton.
Mondism
In the aftermath of the
1926 General Strike, Mond led efforts to establish cooperation between workers (represented by trades unions and the
General Council of the TUC) and the large employers; this short-lived initiative became known as .
Benefactions, Zionism and honours
Mond's father had bequeathed a collection of old master paintings to the
National Gallery, and Alfred provided housing for them in 1924. In 1929 he provided land in
Chelsea for the Chelsea Health Society.
An enthusiastic
Zionist, in 1920 Mond donated ten thousand pounds to
Vladimir Jabotinsky. The following year he visited
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
with
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...
. He contributed money to the Jewish Colonization Corporation for Palestine and wrote for Zionist publications.
He became President of the British Zionist Foundation and made financial contributions to Zionist causes. Melchett founded the town of
Tel Mond, now in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. He also started building what is now one of the few private houses on the shore of the
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...
, now known as Villa Melchett.
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
and several other Israeli cities have a Melchett Street commemorating him.
One of Mond's most enduring contributions to Zionism did not come through direct political means but through his enthusiastic and active support of
Pinhas Rutenberg, to whom the British Government granted exclusive concessions to produce and distribute electricity in Palestine. Mond sat on the Board of the Palestine Electric Company and promoted the case of the company in London's political and industrial circles.
Mond was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1928 and received a number of honorary degrees from
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and other universities.
Personal life
In 1894 Mond married
Violet Goetze and they had one son,
Henry Ludwig, and three daughters,
Eva Violet, Mary Angela, and Norah Jena. Mond died in his London home in 1930, and his son succeeded in the barony.
Publications
* ''Industry and Politics'' (1927)
* ''Imperial Economic Unity'' (1930)
Literary references
Mond is mentioned in
T. S. Eliot's 1920 poem ''A Cooking Egg''. He is also – along with the Turkish leader
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...
– widely considered to be the inspiration behind Mustapha Mond, one of the ten world controllers in
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the ...
's 1932 novel ''
Brave New World''.
Coat of arms
See also
*
Ludwig Mond Award
*
Melchett Medal
*
Mond gas
References
Further reading
*
Bolitho, Hector. ''Alfred Mond: First Baron Melchett. A Biography'' (Martin Secker, 1933)
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mond, Alfred, 1st Baron Melchett
1868 births
1930 deaths
19th-century English Jews
20th-century English Jews
20th-century English businesspeople
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Barons Melchett
Burials at St Pancras and Islington Cemetery
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
Deputy lieutenants of Cheshire
British Ashkenazi Jews
English people of German-Jewish descent
Fellows of the Royal Society (Statute 12)
Imperial Chemical Industries executives
Jewish British politicians
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
Members of the Inner Temple
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Carmarthenshire constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Swansea constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Alfred Mond,1st Baron Melchett
People educated at Cheltenham College
People from Widnes
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1918–1922
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1924–1929
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Tel Mond
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians
Barons created by George V