Dorothy de Rothschild was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

 and activist for Jewish affairs who married into the Rothschild international financial dynasty.

Born Dorothy Mathilde Pinto, and known to her friends as "Dolly", she married James Armand de Rothschild

James Armand de Rothschild

James Armand Edmond de Rothschild, DCM, DL, was a French-born British politician and philanthropist, from the wealthy Rothschild international banking dynasty....

 (known as Jimmy) at the age of 17 in 1913. He was 35 years old, the son of Edmond James de Rothschild

Edmond James de Rothschild

Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Zionism, his generous donations lent significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel.- Early years :A...

 of the Paris branch of the Rothschild family. In 1922 James de Rothschild inherited Waddesdon Manor

Waddesdon Manor

Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. The house was built in the Neo-Renaissance style of a French château between 1874 and 1889 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild . Since this was the preferred style of the Rothschilds it became also known as...

 in Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

. This became their country home. They also had a London house in St James's Square.

Dorothy de Rothschild assisted her husband in his political campaigns, particularly from 1929 to 1945 when he was Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the Isle of Ely

Isle of Ely (UK Parliament constituency)

Isle of Ely was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, centred on the Isle of Ely in Cambridgeshire...

 constituency.

After his death in 1957, Waddesdon Manor was bequeathed to the National Trust

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

, but the surrounding estate and small mansion at Eythrope

Eythrope

Eythrope is a hamlet and country house in the parish of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located to the south east of the main village of Waddesdon, and is the present home of a branch of the Rothschild family....

 in Buckinghamshire were retained by Mrs. de Rothschild. She remained a strong influence on the preservation and development of the house and collections at Waddesdon.

Dorothy de Rothschild continued the Zionist

Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

 interests of her father-in-law and husband, and was a close friend of Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Weizmann

Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....

. She became chairman of Yad Hanadiv, the Rothschild family charities in Israel, and saw through her husband's gift of funds to build the Knesset

Knesset

The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...

 and her own gift of the Supreme Court of Israel

Supreme Court of Israel

The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...

building.

At her death in 1988, she left £94,117,964, the largest probated estate to that date in England and Wales.

External links

• Obituary, New York Times, December 13, 1988

Sources

• Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 12 December 1988
• Mrs James de Rothschild - Rothschilds at Waddesdon Manor (Collins, 1979) ISBN 0-00-216671-2