Robert Philippe Gustave de Rothschild (19 January 1880 – 25 December 1946) was a French banker, philanthropist and polo player.
Early life
Robert de Rothschild was born on 19 January 1880 in
Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
[Robert de Rothschild](_blank)
Bibliothèque nationale de France His father, Baron
Gustave de Rothschild
Gustave Samuel James de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (17 February 1829 in Paris – 28 November 1911 in Paris) was a French banker and scion of the French branch of the Rothschild family. He was the second son of James Mayer de Rothschild and ...
, was a banker. His mother was Cécile Anspach.
Career
He was a banker.
During World War II, he was on the Nazi blacklist.
[Baron Robert De Rothschild Dies at 66; Spent War Years in the United States](_blank)
'' Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', December 27, 1946 Moreover, his French citizenship was nullified by the
Vichy government
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
because he was Jewish.
He escaped to England and emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York City in August 1940.
He stayed there for five years, throughout the war years.
Philanthropy
He supported Jewish causes in France, and later New York City.
After the war, he supported efforts to revive Jewish life in France.
Polo
He was a four-goal polo player.
[Horace A. Laffaye, ''The Polo Encyclopedia'', Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2004, p. 32]
/ref> He was the founder of the Deauville International Polo Club
Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...
in 1907. He organized the Laversine Open Polo Cup on the grounds of his chateau in Saint-Maximin. He also organized tournaments in Apremont in 1920.[Le Polo Club de Chantilly : un Site Historique](_blank)
/ref> By 1995, Apremont was home to the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly.
He won the International Paris Tournament in 1907 and the Paris Open in 1920.
Personal life
He married Gabrielle Nelly Régine Beer on 6 March 1907. They resided at the Château de Laversine. They had two sons and two daughters:
# Diane Cécile Alice Juliette de Rothschild (1907–1996), married to Anatol Mühlstein ( 1932), and Joseph Benvenuti ( 1952)
# James Gustave Jules Alain de Rothschild (1910–1982), married Mary Chauvin du Treuil ( 1938)
# Cécile Léonie Eugénie Gudule Lucie de Rothschild (1913–1995)
# Élie Robert de Rothschild (1917–2007), married to Liliane Fould-Springer ( 1942)
During the war, his two sons were captured by the Nazis.
Death
He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
on Christmas Day, 25 December 1946 in Lausanne, Switzerland
Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...
at age 66.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Robert de
1880 births
1946 deaths
Sportspeople from Oise
French bankers
French philanthropists
French polo players
French exiles
19th-century French Jews
Businesspeople from Paris
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
Deaths from pneumonia in Switzerland