Baron de Hirsch
| Moritz von Hirsch | |
|---|---|
Portrait of the baron
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| Born |
9 December 1831 Munich, Bavaria |
| Died | 21 April 1896 (aged 64) Ógyalla, Austria-Hungary |
| Nationality | German |
| Other names | Maurice de Hirsch |
| Occupation | Financier and philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Clara Bischoffsheim (m. 1855) |
| Children | Lucien (1856-1887) |
Moritz (Zvi) von Hirsch, also known as Maurice de Hirsch (German: Moritz Freiherr von Hirsch auf Gereuth; French: Maurice, baron de Hirsch de Gereuth; 9 December 1831 – 21 April 1896), was a German Jewish financier and philanthropist who set up charitable foundations to promote Jewish education and improve the lot of oppressed European Jewry. He was the founder of the Jewish Colonization Association, which sponsored large-scale Jewish immigration to Argentina.
Hirsch was born on 9 December 1831 in Munich. His parents were Baron Joseph von Hirsch auf Gereuth and Caroline Wertheimer. His grandfather, the first Jewish landowner in Bavaria, was ennobled in 1818 with the appellation "auf Gereuth". His father, who was banker to the Bavarian king, was made a baron in 1869. For generations, the family occupied a prominent position in the German Jewish community. At the age of thirteen, Hirsch was sent to Brussels for schooling. He then went into business, at the age of seventeen.
Hirsch got married on 28 June 1855 to Clara Bischoffsheim, daughter of Jonathan-Raphaël Bischoffsheim of Brussels. They had a daughter who died in infancy and a son, Lucien (1856-1887), who predeceased his parents.
In 1855, Hirsch became associated with the banking house of Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, of Brussels, London and Paris. He amassed a large fortune, which he increased by purchasing and working railway concessions in Austria, Turkey and the Balkans, and by speculations in sugar and copper. His best known railway venture was the Chemins de fer Orientaux, a visionary railway project intended to link Vienna to Istanbul.
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