David Baruch Adler (16 May 1826 – 4 December 1878) was a Jewish-Danish banker, politician and philanthropist. He founded Kjøbenhavns Handelsbank in 1875.

Early life and education

Adler was born on 16 May 1826 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, the son of broker Baruch Isak Adler (1789–1843) and Hanne Meyer (1792–1842). He attended Mariboes Realskole before moving to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

at the age of 16 where he received a commercial education as a textile merchant.

Career

After four years in Hamburg, Adler continued to London where, in 1848, an inheritance of about 30,000 rigsdaler enabled him to become a partner in the commission house Martin Levin & Adler. In 1850 he returned to Copenhagen. He founded the banking house of D. B. Adler & Co. on 22 February 1850. Martin Levin was a silent partner in the company, just as Adler remained a silent partner in the London enterprise for a few more years. Together with Tietgen he was a driving force behind the foundation of

Privatbanken Carl Frederik Tietgen (19 March 1829 – 19 October 1901) was a Danish financier and industrialist. He played an important role in the industrialisation of Denmark as the founder of numerous prominent Danish companies, many of which are stil ...

in 1868. He was a member of its governing board until disagreements with Tietgen made him resign in 1876. On 18 April 1875, after years of preparations in secrecy, Adler founded Kjøbenhavns Handelsbank. The board of directors consisted of national bank directors W. Sponneck and A.E. Reimann as well as state loans director Martin Levy. Adler was later also a co-founder of several credit and banking houses in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

, including Nye Jyske Købstadskreditforening (1871) on the basis of the firm Adler, Wulff & Meyer in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

Jysk Handels- og Landbrugsbank (1876). Adler was a member of the Maritime and Commercial Court from 1862 to 1877. He was a member of

Grosserer-Societetet The ('Wholesalers' Society') was a society for wholesale merchants in Copenhagen founded by law in 1742. After 1714, it was possible to acquire citizenship as a wholesaler in the city. was reorganized in 1817. In 1987 the association was replace ...

's governing committee from 1875 to 1878. He was also a member of several legislative commissions and exhibition committees. He was a member of the Mosaic (Jewish) community's board of representatives from 1870 to 1877.

Politics

Adler was a member of the

Copenhagen City Council The Copenhagen City Council (Danish: ) is the municipal government of Copenhagen, Denmark, and has its seat at Copenhagen City Hall. The city council is Copenhagen's highest political authority and sets the framework for the committees' tasks. ...

from 1858 to 1864. He was a member of

Folketinget The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral List of legislatures by country, national legislature (parliament) of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper to ...

in 1869–1872 and again in 1864–1869, and of

Landstinget The Landsting () was the upper house of the Rigsdag, from 1849 until 1953, when the bicameral system was abolished in favour of unicameralism. The Landsting had powers equal to the Folketing, which made the two houses of parliament hard to dis ...

as a substitute for Moritz G. Melchior in 1874–1878. He belonged to the National Liberal Party and had close ties to politicians such as

Carl Christian Hall Carl Christian Hall (25 February 1812 – 14 August 1888) was a Danish statesman. Hall served as the Council President of Denmark (Prime Minister), first from 1857 to 1859 and again from 1860 to 1863. Early life Hall was the son of the highly ...

, and .

Personal life

On 19 December 1849, Adler married Jenny Raphael (11 March 1830 – 13 November 1902) in London. She was a daughter of banker John Raphael (1802–1877) and Emma Schiff (1803–1844). The couple had six children. Their eldest son, Bertil Adler, took on the family firm after his father's death. Their second youngest daughter,

Hanna Adler Hanna Adler (28 May 1859, Copenhagen–4 January 1947, Copenhagen) was a Danish physicist and head teacher, school principal. One of the first Danish women to graduate in physics, she is remembered for founding and running Denmark's first Mixed-se ...

, founded the predecessor of Sortedam School. Their youngest daughter, Ellen Adler, married

Christian Bohr Christian Harald Lauritz Peter Emil Bohr (14 February 1855 - 3 February 1911) was a Danish physician, father of the physicist and Nobel laureate Niels Bohr, as well as the mathematician and football player Harald Bohr and grandfather of another ...

and was the mother of

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (, ; ; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and old quantum theory, quantum theory, for which he received the No ...

and

Harald Bohr Harald August Bohr (22 April 1887 – 22 January 1951) was a Danish mathematician and footballer. After receiving his doctorate in 1910, Bohr became an eminent mathematician, founding the field of almost periodic functions. His brother was the ...

. Adler resided in the

Gustmeyer House The Gustmeyer House ( Danish: Gustmeyers Gård) is a historic property on Ved Stranden, opposite Christiansborg Palace on Slotsholmen, in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in 1797 to a Neoclassical design by Johan Martin Quist. The Nobel ...

Ved Stranden Ved Stranden ( lit. "At the Beach") is a canal side public space and street which runs along a short section of the Zealand side of Slotsholmen Canal in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Holmens Kanal, opposite the Church of Holmen, and ...

12 in Copenhagen. He was also the owner of the country house Nærumgård in

Nærum Nærum () is a suburban district in Rudersdal Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Quartered by the Helsingør Motorway running north–south and Skodsborgvej running east–west, Nærum is bounded by Jægersborg Heg ...

north of the city. He and his wife turned Nærumgård into an orphanage in their will. Adler died on 4 December 1878 and is buried in the Jewish Northern Cemetery. Their mansion in Copenhagen was taken over by Christian and Ellen Bohr.

References

External links

Video
at David B. Adler
Source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alder, David B. 1826 births 1878 deaths 19th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Danish politicians Burials at Jewish Northern Cemetery (Copenhagen) Danish bankers 19th-century Copenhagen City Council members Danish philanthropists Businesspeople from Copenhagen Jewish Danish politicians Members of the Rigsrådet (1855-1866) 19th-century philanthropists Danish financial businesspeople Danish financial company founders