Goldsmid is the name of a family of

Anglo-Jewish British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British people, British citizens who are Jews, Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 202 ...

bankers who sprang from Aaron Goldsmid (died 1782), a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

merchant who settled in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

around 1763. Two of his sons, Benjamin Goldsmid (c. 1753–1808) and Abraham Goldsmid (c. 1756–1810), began business together around 1777 as bill-brokers in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. They became great powers in the money market during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

through their dealings with the government. In 1810, Abraham Goldsmid was joint contractor with the

Barings Barings LLC is a global investment management firm owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company ( MassMutual). It operates as a subsidiary of MassMutual Financial Group, a diversified financial services organization. As of December 31, ...

for a government loan, but owing to a depreciation of the scrip, he was forced into

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

and committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. His brother, in a fit of depression, had similarly taken his own life two years before. Both were noted for their public and private generosity, and both played major roles in funding and managing the Naval Asylum – later renamed the

Royal Naval Asylum The Royal Naval Asylum was an educational institution, founded under the name The British National Endeavour in 1798, that later merged with the Royal Hospital School in Greenwich. The school was founded by Mr Andrew Thompson, who appealed to t ...

. Benjamin left four sons, the youngest being Lionel Prager Goldsmid, and a daughter Mary Ann Goldsmid who married

Timothy Yeats Brown Timothy Yeats Brown (14 July 1789 – 3 February 1858) was an English banker and head of his family firm Brown, Cobb & Co. He became the British consul to Genoa from 1840 to 1857. Life Born on 14 July 1789, the youngest and only surviving so ...

in 1812; Abraham left a daughter, Isabel Goldsmid. Their nephew was

Sir Isaac Goldsmid, 1st Baronet Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, 1st Baronet (13 January 1778 – 27 April 1859) was a financier and one of the leading figures in the Jewish emancipation in the United Kingdom, who became the first British Jew to receive a hereditary title. Biography ...

. He had married his cousin Isabel (the daughter of Abraham Goldsmid), and their second son was

Sir Francis Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet (1 May 1808 – 2 May 1878) was an English lawyer and politician. Early life The son of Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid and a member of the Goldsmid family, Goldsmid banking family, Francis w ...

(1808–1878). Francis became the first Jew to become an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

, and he went on to represent the Reading constituency. He also married his cousin –

Louisa Goldsmid Lady Louisa Sophia Goldsmid (2 September 1819 – 12 June 1908) was a British philanthropist and education activist who targeted her life at improving education provision for British women. She took a leading role in persuading Cambridge Universi ...

. They had no children, so Francis was succeeded in the

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 14th ...

cy by his nephew

Sir Julian Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet Sir Julian Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet, DL, JP (8 October 1838 – 7 January 1896) was a British lawyer, businessman and Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1866 and 1896. Background and early life ...

(1838–1896), son of Frederick David Goldsmid (1812–1866), MP for

Honiton Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census). History The ...

. Sir Julian was for many years in Parliament, and his wealth, ability and influence made him a person of considerable importance. He was eventually made a privy councillor. He had eight daughters, but no son, and his entailed property passed to his relation, Osmond Elim d'

Avigdor Avigdor () a small moshav in southern Israel. Located south of Kiryat Malakhi and 11 km north of Kiryat Gat and covering 3.75 km², it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In its population was . History It ...

; his house in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

was converted into the

Isthmian Club The Isthmian Club, founded in 1882, later had premises at 105, Piccadilly, London, in a grand five-bay house that had belonged to Sir Julian Goldsmid, Bt. The non-political club was open to "Gentlemen who have been educated at one of the univers ...

. Another distinguished member of the same family was Sir

Frederic John Goldsmid Major-General Sir Frederic John Goldsmid KCSI, CB (19 May 1818 – 12 January 1908) was an officer in British Army and East India Company, who also served the British government in various roles through the Middle East. Life and career Go ...

(1818–1908), son of Lionel Prager Goldsmid. His sister married Henry Edward Goldsmid (1812–1855), an eminent Indian civil servant, son of Edward Goldsmid. His reform of the

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

system in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

and introduction of a new system, established after his death, through his reports in 1840–1847, and his devoted labor in land-surveys, were considered of the highest importance to western India and established his memory there as a public benefactor.

Goldsmid baronets

* Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid, 1st Baronet (1778–1859) * Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet (1808–1878) *

(1838–1896)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia entry
* An article on Neville Davison Goldsmid, businessman and art collector in The Hague, in the Dutch Wikipedia Dutch Jews Jewish British history Jewish-British families

Goldsmid baronets

See also

References

External links