The Baring family is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

family of merchants and bankers. In Germany, the family belongs to the ''

Bildungsbürgertum ''Bildungsbürgertum'' () is a social class that emerged in mid-18th-century Germany, as the educated social stratum of the bourgeoisie, men and women who had received an education based upon the metaphysical values of Idealism and Classical ...

'', and in England, it belongs to the

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...

History

The family's earliest known ancestor is Peter Baring (or Petrus Baring), who was a burgher of the city of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

, then a semi-independent city-state that was part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

and the

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

, now part of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, around 1500. Peter Baring's son Franz Baring (Franciscus Baringius) became the first

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

bishop of Lauenburg in what is now

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

in Germany from 1565. The current family in Germany and England is descended from Franz Baring. In the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, the Baring family belonged to the upper bourgeoisie, the so-called '' Hübsche Familien'' (from ''hübsch'', pretty, or good looking), which comprised the third division of the ruling class of the Holy Roman Empire, after the nobility and the clergy. The English branch of the family is descended from Franz Baring (1657–1697), a professor of theology in

Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...

. He was the father of

Johann Baring Johann Baring (born 15 November 1697 in Bremen Duchies of Bremen and Verden, died 1748 in West Country, England), later anglicised to ''John Baring'', was a German-British merchant. He came to England in 1717 as an immigrant, as the apprentice ...

(1697–1748), who moved from his hometown of Bremen to

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in England to take up an apprenticeship with a

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

-exporter in 1717. Over the years, Johann Baring, who was later also known as John, built a small fortune as a wool merchant. His sons

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

and John Baring moved to London, where in 1762 they founded the ''John and Francis Baring Company'', commonly known as

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

. Barings Bank became one of the leading London

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...

s, until it collapsed in 1995. Francis Baring was the father of

Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet (12 June 1772 – 3 April 1848), was a British banker and Member of Parliament. Early life Baring was born on 12 June 1772. A member of the Baring family, he was the eldest son of Harriet (née Herring) Baring an ...

, and grandfather to

Francis Baring, 1st Baron Northbrook Francis Thornhill Baring, 1st Baron Northbrook, (20 April 1796 – 6 September 1866), known as Sir Francis Baring, 3rd Baronet, from 1848 to 1866, was a British Whig politician who served in the governments of Lord Melbourne and Lord John Russ ...

. He was also father to

Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, PC (27 October 177412 May 1848), of The Grange in Hampshire, of Ashburton in Devon and of Buckenham Tofts near Thetford in Norfolk, was a British politician and financier, and a member of the Baring famil ...

, and through his third son

Henry Baring Henry Baring (18 January 1777 – 13 April 1848) was a British banker and politician. He was the third son of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, the founder of the family banking firm that grew into Barings Bank. His grandfather Johann Baring em ...

the grandfather of

Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke Edward Charles Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke (13 April 1828 – 17 July 1897), was a British banker. Early life A member of the Baring banking family, "Ned" Baring was born on 13 April 1828. He was the second son of Henry Baring from his second ma ...

, and

Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...

Arnulf Baring Arnulf Martin Baring (8 May 1932 in Dresden – 2 March 2019 in Berlin) was a German lawyer, journalist, political scientist, contemporary historian and author. He was a member of the German-British Baring family of bankers. Life Arnulf Baring ...

(19322019) was a member of the branch of the family remaining in Germany. Since the early 19th century, the Baring family maintained close relations with the

Berenberg family The Berenberg family ( Dutch for "bear mountain") was a Flemish-origined Hanseatic family of merchants, bankers and senators in Hamburg, with branches in London, Livorno and other European cities. The family was descended from the brothers ...

of bankers.Tanja Drössel, ''Die Engländer in Hamburg 1914 bis 1945'', pp. 107–108.

Hereditary titles

The Baring family is one of the most titled in the United Kingdom, since several family members were created peers or

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 14t ...

s. The family has held the following British peerage titles: * Baron Ashburton (created 1835) * Baron Northbrook (created 1866) * Earl of Northbrook and Viscount Baring (created 1876; extinct 1929) *

Baron Revelstoke Baron Revelstoke, of Membland in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 June 1885 for the businessman Edward Baring, head of the family firm of Barings Bank and a member of the Baring famil ...

(created 1885) *

Earl of Cromer Earl of Cromer is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, held by members of the Baring family, of German descent. It was created for Evelyn Baring, 1st Viscount Cromer, long time British Consul-General in Egypt. He had already been cr ...

and Viscount Errington (created 1901) **also Baron Cromer (created 1892) and Viscount Cromer (created 1899) *

Baron Howick of Glendale Baron Howick of Glendale, of Howick in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1960 for Sir Evelyn Baring, the former Governor of Kenya. A member of the famous Baring family, he was the t ...

(created 1960) In addition, two baronetcies have been created for members of the family (in 1793 and 1911): *see Baring baronets

Gallery

File:John Baring (1697-1748).jpg,

File:Sir Francis Baring, 1st Bt.jpg, Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet File:BaringBaringWall.jpg, Sir Francis Baring (left), with brother John Baring and son-in-law Charles Wall File:AlexanderBaring.jpg,

File:Francis Baring, 1st Baron Northbrook by Sir George Hayter.jpg,

File:Sir Thomas Baring.jpg, Sir Thomas Baring File:Charles Baring portrait.jpg, Bishop

Charles Baring Charles Thomas Baring (11 January 1807 – 14 September 1879) was an English bishop, noted as an Evangelical. Early life, family and education Baring was born into the Baring banking family on 11 January 1807, the fourth son of Sir Thomas Bari ...

File:Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton.jpg,

Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton William Bingham Baring, 2nd Baron Ashburton, (June 1799 – 23 March 1864) was a British businessman and a Whig politician who later became a Tory. Background and education William Bingham Baring was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in J ...

File:Bain News Service. LOC ggbain.07321. Lady Ashburton (cropped).jpg, Lady Louisa Barings File:Thomas Baring Earl of Northbrook.jpg,

Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, (22 January 182615 November 1904) was a British Liberal statesman. Gladstone appointed him Viceroy of India 1872–1876. His major accomplishments came as an energetic reformer who was dedicated to ...

File:Elizabeth Baring, by Richard Buckner.jpg, Elizabeth Baring, wife of Thomas Baring File:Francis Denzil Edward Baring, 5th Baron Ashburton (1866-1938).jpg,

Francis Baring, 5th Baron Ashburton Francis Denzil Edward Baring, 5th Baron Ashburton, DL (20 July 1866 – 27 March 1938), was a British peer and politician. Early life Baring was the son of Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton, a Member of Parliament for Thetford, and Leonora ...

Family tree

References

External links

{{Banking families Banking families German families Businesspeople from Bremen