Sir Anthony de Rothschild, Bt | |
---|---|
Born | 29 May 1810 |
Died | 3 January 1876 | (aged 65)
Known for | Rothschild banking family of England |
Parent(s) |
Nathan Mayer Rothschild Hanna Barent Cohen |
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.
Born in New Court, St Swithin's Lane, in the City of London, Anthony de Rothschild was the third child and second son of Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Hanna Barent Cohen. Multilingual, he studied at the University of Göttingen in Germany and the University of Strasbourg 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.
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:
On his father's death in 1836, Anthony became a partner in the bank. Anthony's eldest brother Lionel de Rothschild worked at the bank but in time became more and more involved in politics. With younger brother Nathaniel 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. In the 1840s he was involved with their investment in an ironworks in Mexico 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 Refinery in London and took charge of overseeing the operation.