Sir Anthony Nathan de Rothschild, 1st Baronet (29 May 1810 – 3 January 1876), was a British financier and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England.

Early life

Born in New Court, St Swithin's Lane, in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, Anthony de Rothschild was the third child and second son of

Nathan Mayer Rothschild Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836), also known as Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild, was a British-German banker, businessman and finance, financier. Born in Free City of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, he was the third of ...

and Hanna Barent Cohen. Multilingual, he studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in Germany and the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

in France. He then went to work for N M Rothschild & Sons in London and was sent to train at de Rothschild Frères in Paris and M. A. Rothschild & Söhne in

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 ...

. In 1840 Anthony Nathan de Rothschild married Louise Montefiore (1821–1910). She was a cousin, the daughter of Henriette Rothschild (1791–1866) and Abraham Montefiore. They had two daughters: # Constance (1843–1931), married Cyril Flower, 1st Baron Battersea (1843–1907) # Annie Henrietta (1844–1926), married the Hon. Elliot Constantine Yorke, (1843–1878) son of the 4th Earl of Hardwicke.

Banking career

On his father's death in 1836, Anthony became a partner in the bank. Anthony's eldest brother

Lionel de Rothschild Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (22 November 1808 – 3 June 1879) was a British Jewish banker, politician and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England. He became the first practising Jew to sit a ...

worked at the bank but in time became more and more involved in politics. With younger brother

Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...

settling permanently in Paris and acquiring the Château Brane Mouton vineyard, and youngest brother Mayer Amschel showing little interest in banking, a good portion of the responsibility for running the family's investment house fell on Anthony's shoulders. Working with brother Lionel and his cousin James in Paris, Anthony was a key figure in the 1845 creation and management of the Chemin de Fer du Nord, the family's rail transport business in France. Anthony Rothschild's involvement with the financing of European railways was extensive and included the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée, the Imperial Lombardo Venetian and Central Italian Railway Company of which brother Lionel was a director as well as funding railroad construction in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In the 1840s he was involved with their investment in an ironworks in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

that supplied product for the building of that country's railway system. In addition, he was part of the 1852 negotiations for the lease whereby the Rothschilds took over the running of the

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

Refinery in London and took charge of overseeing the operation.

Private life

Like other members of the Rothschild family, Anthony was a dedicated collector of art and antiquities, making purchases from dealers across Europe. He acquired several pieces of exceedingly rare

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

from France. He owned paintings such as "''Portrait of a Man as the God Mars''" by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

and "''The Dispatch of the Messenger''" by

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

. In the early 1850s, Anthony de Rothschild acquired Aston Clinton House, an estate in Aston Clinton near

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. He had been raised in London and although he maintained an opulent home at Grosvenor Place, he preferred country living where he liked to ride horses and participate in the hunt. At his

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

s he raised

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

s, producing a number of successful winners on the track. A philanthropist, his support for various causes included an endowment of an infants school at Aston Clinton. He was also active in the London

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 community, supporting the Jews' Free School and was the first president of the United Synagogue upon its formation in 1870.

Honours

In 1847,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

made him 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 ...

in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. Since he had no male heirs, the title passed upon his death (by a special remainder) to his nephew

. The latter was subsequently created Baron Rothschild in 1885, with which title the baronetcy remains merged. He was also a hereditary ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

'' (

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

) of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

, and he became the Consul-General in London for the Emperor of Austria in 1858. In addition, he was appointed as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1861.

Later life

Anthony Nathan de Rothschild died in 1876 at Woolston, Hampshire, and was interred in the Willesden Jewish Cemetery. In his memory, his wife gifted Anthony Hall to the village of Aston Clinton, which is now a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

References

*See list of references at:

Rothschild banking family of England The Rothschild banking family of England is the British branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1798 by Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), who first settled in Manchester before moving to London, Kingdom of Great Britain (in pre ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Anthony De, 1st Baronet English bankers English art collectors 19th-century English philanthropists British racehorse owners and breeders English Jews Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Anthony Jewish British philanthropists 1810 births 1876 deaths High sheriffs of Buckinghamshire Burials at Willesden Jewish Cemetery 19th-century English businesspeople