Lord Revelstoke Vanity Fair 11 August 1898

John Baring, 2nd Baron Revelstoke (7 September 1863 – 19 April 1929) was senior partner of

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London. It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

from the 1890s until his death. John was the eldest surviving son of

Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke Edward Charles Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke (13 April 1828 – 17 July 1897), was a British banker. Early life A member of the Baring banking family, "Ned" Baring was born on 13 April 1828. He was the second son of Henry Baring from his second ...

, and a great-grandson of the firm’s founder, Francis Baring.

Career at Barings

At the age of twenty, John left Cambridge to join the family firm. After a few years learning the basics in the counting house, he was sent on an extensive tour of North and South America to learn first-hand about Barings' international interests and meet the people he would later be dealing with. He became a partner in January 1890, less than a year before Barings nearly collapsed in the

Panic of 1890 The Baring crisis or the Panic of 1890 was an acute recession in the United States. Although less serious than other panics of the era, it is the 19th century’s most famous sovereign debt crisis, and the 17th largest decline in U.S. stock marke ...

. He was not implicated in that affair, so was allowed to continue as partner and played an increasingly important role in the affairs of the reorganized firm. By the outbreak of 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 ...

, Barings’ prestige had been fully restored under his leadership. During the War, Revelstoke was closely concerned with raising finance for the Imperial Russian government.

Outside Appointments

Revelstoke held numerous appointments outside the firm. He was a director of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

from 1898 until his death;

Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

of the

Duchy of Cornwall A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...

;

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

as British financial representative at the Allied Conference in Petrograd in 1917; and a British representative to the Committee of Experts on German Reparations in 1929. He died shortly before the end of the negotiations on German Reparations held in Paris, leading to an adjournment of these.Ahamed, Liaquat (2009). ''Los señores de las finanzas'' p. 382. Deusto. .

Personal life

Revelstoke lived at 3

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces, the Western and Eastern terraces, of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of ...

in London from 1904 until his death in 1929, and owned a country house in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

. He never married, although in 1906 he proposed to

Nancy Langhorne Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...

(later Nancy Astor). Upon his death, his title passed to his younger brother Cecil, who was also a partner in the family banking firm for many years.

Arms

References

External links

* P. Ziegler, ''The Sixth Great Power: The House of Barings, 1762–1929'' (1988)
The Baring Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Revelstoke, John Baring, 2nd Baron 1863 births 1929 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British bankers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Lord-lieutenants of Middlesex Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People associated with the Bank of England