Sir Julian Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet, DL, JP (8 October 1838 – 7 January 1896) was a British lawyer, businessman and Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1866 and 1896.

Background and early life

Goldsmid was the son of Frederick Goldsmid and his wife Caroline Samuel. His father was a banker and Member of Parliament for Honiton. Goldsmid was educated privately until he entered University College, London. In 1864 he became a fellow of University College, and was also called to the bar.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref> After a brief period on the Oxford circuit, he gave up practising law when he was elected to parliament.Jewish encyclopedia
/ref>

Career

Goldsmid first stood for Parliament at a by-election in February 1864 for the borough of Brighton, without success, and he was defeated again at the 1865 general election, when he contested

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

. He was elected unopposed as Member of Parliament (MP) for Honiton at a by-election in March 1866. In that year, Goldsmid inherited Somerhill House near Tonbridge,

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, on the death of his father. Honiton was disfranchised in 1868 by the Reform Act 1867 and at the 1868 general election Goldsmid stood unsuccessfully for Mid Surrey. He was elected for Rochester at a by-election in 1870 and held the seat until his defeat at the 1880 general election. In 1879, Goldsmid began expanding Somerhill to accommodate his large family; he had eight daughters. The work took until 1897 to complete. He then contested a by-election in May 1880 for Sandwich, and was returned to the Commons after a five-year absence at the 1885 general election as MP for St Pancras South, holding that seat until his death in 1896. In 1894 Goldsmid was deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1878 Goldsmid succeeded his uncle, Sir Francis Goldsmid to the baronetcy and to the estate of Whiteknights Park at Earley in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, as well as others in Sussex, Kent and elsewhere. He also bore the Portuguese title of Baron de Goldsmid e da Palmeira. His business interests included being chairman of the Submarine Telegraph Company and the Imperial and Continental Gas Association, and he was a director of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway. A steam locomotive was named ''Goldsmid'' after him in 1892.Brighton St Ann's Well
/ref> Goldsmid was treasurer of University College in 1880-81 and was a member of the council of University College Hospital. He was vice-chancellor of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

when he died. He was Deputy lieutenant of Kent, Sussex, and Berkshire, J. P. for Kent, Sussex, and London, colonel of the 1st Sussex Rifle Volunteers, and honorary colonel of the 1st Sussex Artillery Volunteers. Goldsmid was one of many who was concerned about the Russian persecutions of the Jewish community in 1881. He was assigned as chairman of a fund that focused on the relief of Russo-Jewish refugees. This fund supported the Board of Guardians, a body that performed the Russian exodus into England. The number of refugees permanently residing in London was not large. The majority of refugees continued their voyage to America.

Marriage

In 1868, Goldsmid married Virginia Philipson of Florence and had eight daughters. As he had no son, his entailed property passed to a male relative, his house in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

being converted into the Isthmian Club.

Death

Goldsmid died at the age of 57 at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

where his grandfather, Sir Isaac Goldsmid had purchased the Wick Estate in 1830. "Julian Road" in the estate is named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmid, Julian, 3rd Baronet 1838 births 1896 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Jewish English politicians English people of Dutch-Jewish descent English justices of the peace Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 Deputy lieutenants of Kent Deputy lieutenants of Sussex Deputy lieutenants of Berkshire Alumni of University College London Academics of University College London Vice-chancellors of the University of London People from Earley People from Tonbridge Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Julian Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Honiton Burials at Balls Pond Road Cemetery