Léopold Javal (1 December 1804 – 28 May 1872) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 ...

, agriculturalist and politician.

Biography

Léopold was born in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

into the

Javal family The Javal family originated in Alsace. They benefited from Napoleon I's policy of Napoleon and the Jews, openness toward Jews, and in the 19th century experienced a remarkable ascent, with family members becoming prominent bankers, industrialists ...

, a French industrialist family. His father, Jacques Javal the Younger was one of the richest men in France and established one of the first printed textile mills in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis. Léopold was part of the French army, taking part in the Algerian campaign, where he became a cavalry officer. After the war, he took control of the family banking industry, using it to invest in and organise the rail network in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. Together with the industrialist, Emile Koechlin, he constructed the Mulhouse-Cernay Railroad Line. In 1851 he was elected as general council to the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

region in France. He was elected as deputy to the

Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...

department in 1857, where he served in the legislature until his death. Léopold died on the 28th of May 1872, and is buried in the Pere-Lachaise cemetery.

References

1804 births 1872 deaths 19th-century French Jews French agronomists French bankers Officers of the Legion of Honour Businesspeople from Mulhouse Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French businesspeople {{France-business-bio-stub