Albert Salomon Anselm Freiherr Von Rothschild
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Albert Salomon Anselm Freiherr von Rothschild (29 October 1844 – 11 February 1911) was a
banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...
in
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
and a member of the
Rothschild banking family of Austria The Rothschild banking family of Austria () was the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1820 by Salomon Mayer von Rothschild in Vienna, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. History Salomon Mayer had been sent to A ...
. Businesses that he owned included
Creditanstalt The Creditanstalt (sometimes Credit-Anstalt, abbreviated as CA), full original name k. k. priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe (), was a major Austrian bank, founded in 1855 in Vienna. From its founding until 1931, the ...
and the Northern Railway.


Early life

Rothschild was born in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
on 29 October 1844. He was the youngest son of
Anselm von Rothschild Anselm Salomon von Schwartz Rothschild, Baron Rothschild (29 January 1803 – 27 July 1874) was an Austrian banker, founder of the Creditanstalt, and a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, Vienna branch of the Rothschild family. ...
(1803–1874) and Charlotte von Rothschild (1807–1859). Known in the family as "Salbert," he was educated in
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
.


Career

After his father fell ill in 1866, Albert took over as head of the Rothschild family business in Austria. Upon his father's death in 1874, Albert's elder brothers
Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...
and
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
inherited most of their parent's real estate and art collection. The family business, however, passed to Albert including the
S M von Rothschild S M von Rothschild was a banking enterprise established in 1820 in Vienna, Austrian Empire by Salomon Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the Rothschild banking family of Austria and a member of the Mayer Amschel Rothschild family of Frankfurt, G ...
bank, the single largest shareholding in the
Creditanstalt The Creditanstalt (sometimes Credit-Anstalt, abbreviated as CA), full original name k. k. priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe (), was a major Austrian bank, founded in 1855 in Vienna. From its founding until 1931, the ...
, and the shares in the Northern Railway. After two generations in Austria, communications between his family and the Rothschilds in England had diminished considerably but Albert wisely reinstated the regular exchange of vital information on current economic matters and politics in their respective countries.


Art and residences

Rothschild owned several large properties including the
Palais Albert Rothschild The Palais Albert Rothschild was a palatial residence in Vienna, Austria. It was one of five Palais Rothschild in the city that were owned by members of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, a branch of the international Rothschild family. I ...
at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 20-22, in the 4th
Wieden Wieden (; ) is the 4th municipal district of Vienna, Austria (). It is near the centre of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but its borders were changed later. Wieden is a small region near the city centre. Wien.gv.at webpage (s ...
district of
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, designed by the French architect
Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur Hippolyte Destailleur (27 September 1822 – 17 November 1893) was a French architect, interior designer, and collector. He is noted for his designs and restoration work for great châteaux in France and in England, as well as his collection of bo ...
and built between 1876 and 1882. When his unmarried and childless brother
Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...
died in 1905, Albert inherited his
Palais Nathaniel Rothschild The Palais Nathaniel Rothschild was a palatial residence in Vienna, Austria. It was one of five Palais Rothschild in the city that were owned by members of the Rothschild banking family of Austria. History It was commissioned by Nathaniel Meyer ...
at 14-16 Theresianumgasse in Vienna along with its large collection of art. He also continued the family's involvement in the arts and with
philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
projects. He was a
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
patron who helped to finance the Vienna tournaments of
1873 Events January * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the Unit ...
,
1882 Events January * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in New York at the ...
,
1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...
, 1903 (Gambit) and
1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...
. He was also President of the Vienna Chess Association 1872-1883 and a strong amateur player. He took a special interest in institutions that provided assistance to Jewish artists and musicians. Albert was awarded the Iron Cross of Merit in 1893 for his role in Austro-Hungarian
monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return to ...
.


Personal life

In 1876, Rothschild married his second cousin Baroness Bettina Caroline de Rothschild (1858–1892) of
Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, daughter of
Alphonse James de Rothschild Mayer Alphonse James Rothschild (1 February 1827 – 26 May 1905), was a French financier, vineyard owner, art collector, philanthropist, racehorse owner/breeder and a member of the Rothschild banking family of France. Biography Known as A ...
. Before her death in 1892, they were the parents of seven children: * Georg Anselm Alphonse von Rothschild (1877–1934), who never married and died in a private mental hospital. * Alphonse Meyer de Rothschild (1878–1942), who married Englishwoman Clarice Sebag-Montefiore, in 1912. * Charlotte Esther von Rothschild (1879–1885), who died young. * Ludwig Nathaniel von Rothschild (1882–1955), who married Countess Hildegarde Karoline Johanna Maria von Auersperg in 1946. *
Eugène Daniel von Rothschild Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
divorcee, Countess Erwein von Schönborn-Buchheim ( Catherine "Kitty" Wolf, formerly Mrs. Dandridge Spotswood), in 1925. After her death in 1946, he married actress
Jeanne Stuart Jeanne Stuart (13 August 1908 – 12 February 2003), born Ivy Sweet, was a British stage and film actress. Using the stage name Jeanne Stuart, she performed on the London stage, on Broadway, and in motion pictures. She made her motion pictu ...
in 1952. * Valentine Noémi von Rothschild (1886–1969), who married Baron Sigismund von Springer. * Oskar von Rothschild (1888–1909), who never married and committed suicide at age 21. In December 1887, Albert and his wife were given the right to be presented at Court, the first time such a privilege had been granted in Austria to Jews. Rothschild died in Vienna on 11 February 1911 and was interred next to his wife and their six-year-old daughter Charlotte in the city's
Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's biggest cemet ...
. His eldest son, Georg, and youngest son, Oskar, were also buried in the Zentralfriedhof.


Legacy

Following his wife's death in 1892 at the age of thirty-four, Rothschild donated 500,000
guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...
to build the ''Bettina Frauenspital'' (Bettina Hospital for Women) in her memory and a Bettina Rothschild
begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ...
was named for her. The Austrian astronomer
Johann Palisa Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 G ...
named the large
Main belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids ...
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
he discovered in 1885 the
250 Bettina 250 Bettina is a large main belt asteroid that was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa on September 3, 1885, in Vienna. It was named in honour of Baroness Bettina von Rothschild (née de Rothschild; 1858–1892), wife of Baron Alber ...
in her honor as a benefactor of the
Vienna Observatory The Vienna Observatory () is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings. A new observatory was built betwe ...
. In recognition of Albert von Rothschild's years of financial support, the
719 Albert 719 Albert, provisional designation , is a stony asteroid, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter, classified as a near-Earth object of the Amor group of asteroids. It was discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Obser ...
Amor asteroid The Amor asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after the archetype object 1221 Amor . The orbital perihelion of these objects is close to, but greater than, the orbital aphelion of Earth (i.e., the objects do not cross Earth's orbit ...
was named in his memory by
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
Johann Palisa Johann Palisa (6 December 1848 – 2 May 1925) was an Austrian astronomer, born in Troppau, Austrian Silesia, now Czech Republic. He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 G ...
.


See also

*
Rothschild banking family of Austria The Rothschild banking family of Austria () was the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1820 by Salomon Mayer von Rothschild in Vienna, which was then part of the Austrian Empire. History Salomon Mayer had been sent to A ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothschild, Albert Salomon von 1844 births 1911 deaths Albert Salomon 19th-century Austrian businesspeople Bankers from Austria-Hungary Chess players from Austria-Hungary Jewish chess players Austrian art collectors Philanthropists from Vienna Jews from Austria-Hungary Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Chess patrons 20th-century Austrian businesspeople Chess players from Vienna