Carl Meyer
Encyclopedia
Sir Carl Ferdinand Meyer, 1st Baronet (23 December 1851 – 18 December 1922) was a British banker and mining
magnate.
, Germany, the second son of Siegmund Meyer and Elise Rosa Hahn daughter of Reuben Hahn. He became a naturalised British subject in 1877. In 1883 he married Adèle, daughter of Julius Levis of Hampstead
by which he had a son Frank Cecil Meyer
and a daughter.
as their chief clerk and negotiator with the De Beers
mining group. He then went onto work for De Beers and became deputy chairman of the company. He was also governor of the National Bank of Egypt
, and member of the board of numerous other mining companies. He was given the title of "baronet
" in 1910.
Meyer had a great interest in the arts, constantly showing support for opera, music and the theatre. In 1909 he donated 70,000 pounds to the Shakespeare National Memorial Theater, now rebuilt as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
in Stratford-upon-Avon
. During the First World War Meyer wrote to The Times
expressing his disapproval of the tactics used by the Germans in the war, including the sinking of the RMS Lusitania
, prompted by a suggestion by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero
that Britons of German origin should speak out publicly.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
magnate.
Personal life
Meyer was born in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany, the second son of Siegmund Meyer and Elise Rosa Hahn daughter of Reuben Hahn. He became a naturalised British subject in 1877. In 1883 he married Adèle, daughter of Julius Levis of Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
by which he had a son Frank Cecil Meyer
Frank Cecil Meyer
Sir Frank Cecil Meyer, 2nd Baronet was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.-Personal life:...
and a daughter.
Career
Meyer worked at first for the Rothschild familyRothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
as their chief clerk and negotiator with the De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
mining group. He then went onto work for De Beers and became deputy chairman of the company. He was also governor of the National Bank of Egypt
National Bank of Egypt
- in arabic National Bank of Egypt is the oldest and largest bank in Egypt, and has 405 branches within the country, including 131 in Cairo. It has assets of L.E. 185.3 bn., total deposits of L.E. 155.2 bn., and total loans and advances of L.E. 83 bn...
, and member of the board of numerous other mining companies. He was given the title of "baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
" in 1910.
Meyer had a great interest in the arts, constantly showing support for opera, music and the theatre. In 1909 he donated 70,000 pounds to the Shakespeare National Memorial Theater, now rebuilt as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the British playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is located in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's birthplace - in the English Midlands, beside the River Avon...
in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
. During the First World War Meyer wrote to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
expressing his disapproval of the tactics used by the Germans in the war, including the sinking of the RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
, prompted by a suggestion by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero
Arthur Wing Pinero
Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director.-Biography:...
that Britons of German origin should speak out publicly.
External links
- Portrait of Carl Meyer, Bridgeman Art LibraryBridgeman Art LibraryThe Bridgeman Art Library, based in London, Paris, New York and Berlin, provides one of the largest archives for reproductions of works of art in the world...