Dagobert Friedländer (19 February 1826 – 27 June 1904) was a banker and one of only two Jewish members of the House of Lords of Prussia.

Early life

He was born in Chodziesen (1879-1918: Kolmar), in the Prussian

Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (; ) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from Prussian Partition, territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. On 9 February 1 ...

in 1826.Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus; (eds.) et al. (1901–1906) The Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, New York. LCCN 16-1470

/ref> In 1839, he went to live with his uncle,

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

Wolff Alexander (brother of Bishop Michael Alexander), to apprentice at his bookstore in Wollstein. He left Wollstein to work in his uncle Adler's business in Vienna in 1840 or 1841, and remained there until 1846 when he returned to Wollstein to work once again in the bookstore. There, in 1850, Dagobert married Pauline Friedmann, with whom he had four children. He also became active in the civic life of the town, taking the position of vice-chair of the City Council, and founding a home for the blindFriedlaender, Waldemar: Dagobert Friedlaender, 1826-1904 : ein Lebensbild . München : Knorr & Hirth, 1908

Life in Bromberg

In 1857, Friedländer moved to

Bromberg Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its left-bank tributary, the Brda, the strategic location of Bydgoszcz has made it an inland ...

. He and his brother, Wilhelm founded a bank which became very successful. After the death of his wife in 1864, he was elected to the Bromberg City Council, and in 1874, he was nominated by the city of Bromberg to be its representative in the Upper House of Prussia’s parliament. Upon his appointment, he became only the second Jewish member of the House of Lords. In 1881, in the wake of antisemitic fervor in the area, Dagobert sold his bank and resigned his appointment and moved to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Later life

In 1883, Dagobert returned to the finance business, accepting a position with the Bank for Industry and Commerce in Frankfurt, where he remained until 1891. He left Frankfurt in 1892, moving to Breitenstein in Ermatingen, Switzerland, near

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

; he died there on June 27, 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedlander, Dagobert 1826 births 1904 deaths People from Chodzież People from the Grand Duchy of Posen Members of the Prussian House of Lords Prussian politicians 19th-century German Jews Jewish German bankers German emigrants to Switzerland