Albert Salomon von Rothschild
Encyclopedia
Albert Salomon von Rothschild (October 29, 1844 - February 11, 1911) was a banker in Austria-Hungary
and a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria
. Businesses that he owned included Creditanstalt
and the Northern Railway
.
, he was the youngest child of Anselm von Rothschild
(1803–1874) and Charlotte von Rothschild (1807–1859). Known in the family as "Salbert," he was educated in Vienna and Brünn/Brno
On his father's death in 1874, brothers Nathaniel
and Ferdinand
inherited most of their parents real estate and art collection. However, the family business went to Albert including the S M von Rothschild
bank, the single largest shareholding in the Creditanstalt
, 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.
In 1876, Albert von Rothschild married Baroness Bettina Caroline de Rothschild (1858–1892) of Paris, France, daughter of Alphonse James de Rothschild
. They had seven children. Their firstborn was Georg Anselm Alphonse (March 22, 1877 - January 10, 1934). He never married and died in a private mental hospital. The youngest, Oskar Ruben (1888–1909), never married and at age 21 committed suicide. Georg and Oskar are buried in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.
Albert von Rothschild owed several large properties including the Palais Albert Rothschild
at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 20-22, in the IV. district Wieden
district of Vienna
designed by the French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur
and built between 1876 and 1882.
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 persons of the Jewish faith. Albert continued the family's involvement in the arts and with philanthropic
projects. He was a chess
patron who helped to finance the Vienna tournaments of 1873, 1882, 1898, 1903 (Gambit) and 1908. 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. Following his wife's passing in 1892 at the young age of thirty-four, in her memory Albert von Rothschild built the Bettina Frauenspital (Bettina Hospital for Women) and a Bettina Rothschild begonia
was named for her. The Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa
named the large Main belt
asteroid
he discovered in 1885 the 250 Bettina
in her honor as a benefactor of the Vienna Observatory
.
Albert was awarded the Iron Cross of Merit in 1893 for his role in Austro-Hungarian monetary reform
.
When his unmarried and childless brother Nathaniel died in 1905, Albert inherited his Palais Nathaniel Rothschild
at 14-16 Theresianumgasse in Vienna along with its large collection of art.
Albert Salomon von Rothschild died in Vienna in 1911 and was interred next to his wife and their six-year-old daughter Charlotte in the city's Zentralfriedhof
. In recognition of Albert von Rothschild's years of financial support, the 719 Albert
Amor asteroid
was named in his memory by astronomer
Johann Palisa
.
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria
Rothschild banking family of Austria
The Rothschild banking family of Austria was founded by Salomon Mayer von Rothschild in 1820 in Vienna in what was then the Austrian Empire.-History:...
. Businesses that he owned included Creditanstalt
Creditanstalt
The Creditanstalt was an Austrian bank. The Creditanstalt was based in Vienna, founded in 1855 as K. k. priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe by the Rothschild family...
and the Northern Railway
Northern Railway (Austria)
The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway was the name of a former railway company during the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Its main line was supposed to connect Vienna with salt mines in Bochnia near Kraków...
.
Personal life
Born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, he was the youngest child of Anselm von Rothschild
Anselm von Rothschild
Anselm Salomon von Rothschild, baron was an Austrian banker, and a member of the Vienna branch of the Rothschild family....
(1803–1874) and Charlotte von Rothschild (1807–1859). Known in the family as "Salbert," he was educated in Vienna and Brünn/Brno
On his father's death in 1874, brothers Nathaniel
Nathaniel Anselm von Rothschild
Nathaniel Mayer Anselm von Rothschild was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria.Born in Vienna, he was the fifth child and first son of Anselm von Rothschild and Charlotte von Rothschild . As the eldest male, he was expected to take over the running of the family's Viennese bank, S...
and Ferdinand
Ferdinand James von Rothschild
Ferdinand James Anselm Freiherr von Rothschild was an English art collector, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers...
inherited most of their parents real estate and art collection. However, the family business went to Albert including the S M von Rothschild
S M von Rothschild
S M von Rothschild was a banking enterprise established in 1820 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary by Salomon Mayer Rothschild, the founder of the Rothschild banking family of Austria and a member of the Mayer Amschel Rothschild family of Frankfurt, Germany. The business prospered, financing various...
bank, the single largest shareholding in the Creditanstalt
Creditanstalt
The Creditanstalt was an Austrian bank. The Creditanstalt was based in Vienna, founded in 1855 as K. k. priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe by the Rothschild family...
, and the shares in the Northern Railway
Northern Railway (Austria)
The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway was the name of a former railway company during the time of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Its main line was supposed to connect Vienna with salt mines in Bochnia near Kraków...
. 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.
In 1876, Albert von Rothschild married Baroness Bettina Caroline de Rothschild (1858–1892) of Paris, France, daughter of Alphonse James de Rothschild
Alphonse James de Rothschild
Mayer Alphonse James Rothschild , was a French, financier, vineyard owner, art collector, philanthropist, racehorse owner/breeder and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of France.-Biography:...
. They had seven children. Their firstborn was Georg Anselm Alphonse (March 22, 1877 - January 10, 1934). He never married and died in a private mental hospital. The youngest, Oskar Ruben (1888–1909), never married and at age 21 committed suicide. Georg and Oskar are buried in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.
Albert von Rothschild owed several large properties including the Palais Albert Rothschild
Palais Rothschild
Palais Rothschild refers to a number of palaces in Vienna, Austria, built and owned by the titled Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking family...
at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 20-22, in the IV. district Wieden
Wieden
Wieden is the 4th municipal District of Vienna, Austria . It is near the center of Vienna and was established as a district in 1850, but borders changed later...
district of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
designed by the French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur
Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur
Gabriel-Hippolyte Alexandre Destailleur was a renowned Neo-Renaissance French architect noted for his designs and restoration work for great châteaux in France and in England....
and built between 1876 and 1882.
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 persons of the Jewish faith. Albert continued the family's involvement in the arts and with philanthropic
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
projects. He was a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
patron who helped to finance the Vienna tournaments of 1873, 1882, 1898, 1903 (Gambit) and 1908. 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. Following his wife's passing in 1892 at the young age of thirty-four, in her memory Albert von Rothschild built the Bettina Frauenspital (Bettina Hospital for Women) and a Bettina Rothschild begonia
Begonia
Begonia is a genus in the flowering plant family Begoniaceae and is a perennial. The only other members of the family Begoniaceae are Hillebrandia, a genus with a single species in the Hawaiian Islands, and the genus Symbegonia which more recently was included in Begonia...
was named for her. The Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa was an Austrian astronomer, born in Opava in Austrian Silesia .He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923...
named the large Main belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
he discovered in 1885 the 250 Bettina
250 Bettina
250 Bettina is a large Main belt asteroid. It is classified as an M-type asteroid.It was discovered by Johann Palisa on September 3, 1885 in Vienna...
in her honor as a benefactor of the Vienna Observatory
Vienna Observatory
Universitäts-Sternwarte Wien 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....
.
Albert was awarded the Iron Cross of Merit in 1893 for his role in Austro-Hungarian monetary reform
Monetary reform
Monetary reform describes any movement or theory that proposes a different system of supplying money and financing the economy from the current system.Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals:...
.
When his unmarried and childless brother Nathaniel died in 1905, Albert inherited his Palais Nathaniel Rothschild
Palais Nathaniel Rothschild
The Palais Nathaniel Rothschild was a palatial house in Vienna, one of five Palais Rothschild in the city owned by members of the Rothschild banking family of Austria....
at 14-16 Theresianumgasse in Vienna along with its large collection of art.
Albert Salomon von Rothschild died in Vienna in 1911 and was interred next to his wife and their six-year-old daughter Charlotte in the city's Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
. In recognition of Albert von Rothschild's years of financial support, the 719 Albert
719 Albert
719 Albert is a Mars-crossing, Amor asteroid; it was the second one discovered after 433 Eros.-Discovery:Discovered in 1911 by Johann Palisa, the asteroid was named after one of the Imperial Observatory in Vienna's major benefactors, Albert Salomon von Rothschild, who had died some months before...
Amor asteroid
Amor asteroid
The Amor asteroids are a group of near-Earth asteroids named after the asteroid 1221 Amor. They approach the orbit of the Earth from beyond, but do not cross it. Most Amors do cross the orbit of Mars...
was named in his memory by astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa
Johann Palisa was an Austrian astronomer, born in Opava in Austrian Silesia .He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids, discovering 122 in all, from 136 Austria in 1874 to 1073 Gellivara in 1923...
.