Bernhard Baron (5 December 1850 – 1 August 1929) was a tobacco manufacturer and

philanthropist 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 ...

. He was born in

Brest-Litovsk Brest, formerly Brest-Litovsk and Brest-on-the-Bug, is a city in south-western Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the Polish town of Terespol, where the Bug and Mukhavets rivers meet, making it a border town. It serves as the admini ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now in Belarus), to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents. He lived in

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

as a child, and immigrated to the United States at an early age with his father. Following work at a tobacco factory in the United States, and time spent making

cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

by hand, he invented a cigarette-making machine. From 1890 to 1895 he was managing director of the National Cigarette Tobacco Company of New York, which he had set up with the backing of a group of financiers to challenge the powerful tobacco trusts. In 1895 he visited England to sell the patent rights to his cigarette machine. However, he was attracted by the commercial opportunities and moved to England, where he established the Baron Cigarette Machine Company Limited in

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

, London. The patent was later sold to the

United Cigarette Machine Company United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

for £120,000. He expanded into the production of cigarettes and tobacco and in 1903 he joined the board of the

Carreras Tobacco Company The House of Carreras was a tobacco business established in London in the nineteenth century by Don José Carreras Ferrer, a nobleman from Spain. It remained an independent company until merging with Rothmans of Pall Mall in November 1958. In ...

, becoming its managing director in 1904 and chairman in 1905. He retained these posts until his death. Following his business success he engaged in

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, focusing on hospitals and hospital patients, including the creation of a

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust (law), a legal relationship in which one person holds property for another's benefit * Trust (bu ...

. Amongst the projects supported by the trust was a cradle-to-grave school in the East End of London, originally established as the St George's Jewish Settlement and run by

Basil Henriques Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins, concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century. Education From a ...

and Rose Henriques. With a capacity of over 1,000 pupils it provided everything from kindergarten to adult literacy classes. The school building at 71 Henriques Street in

Shadwell Shadwell is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, England. It also forms part of the city's East End of London, East End. Shadwell is on the north bank of the River Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff and ...

is now named Bernhard Baron House and has been converted to flats. While living in the US he married Rachel Schwartz of Washington, who died in 1920. They had three daughters and one son. His son

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

succeeded him as chairman of Carreras and was created a baronet in 1930. Bernhard Baron died at

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in 1920, and his estate was valued at £5 million.

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1850 births 1929 deaths People from Brest, Belarus People from Brestsky Uyezd 19th-century American inventors Inventors from the Russian Empire English inventors 19th-century British inventors English philanthropists 19th-century Jews from the Russian Empire Belarusian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States British tobacconists American businesspeople in the tobacco industry 19th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English Jews 19th-century American Jews {{US-inventor-stub

See also

References

Further reading

External links