Lionel de Rothschild
Encyclopedia
Biography
The son of Nathan Mayer RothschildNathan Mayer Rothschild
Nathan Mayer, Freiherr von Rothschild , known as Nathan Mayer Rothschild, was a London financier and one of the founders of the international Rothschild family banking dynasty...
and Hanna Barent Cohen, he was a member of the prominent Rothschild family
Rothschild 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...
.
Baron Lionel de Rothschild and his family had "contributed during the Irish famine of 1847 ... a sum far beyond the joint contributions of the Devonshires, and Herefords, Lansdownes, Fitzwilliams and Herberts, who annually drew so many times that amount from their Irish estates."
In 1847 Lionel de Rothschild was first elected to the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as one of four MPs for the City of London constituency
City of London (UK Parliament constituency)
The City of London was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950.-Boundaries and boundary...
. Jews were at that point still barred from sitting in the chamber due to the Christian oath
Oath
An oath is either a statement of fact or a promise calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath, to make a solemn vow...
required to be sworn in so Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
introduced a Jewish Disabilities Bill to remove the problem with the oath. In 1848, the bill was approved by the House of Commons but was twice rejected by the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. After being rejected again by the Upper House
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
in 1849, Rothschild resigned his seat and stood again winning in a by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in order to strengthen his claim.
In 1850, he entered the House of Commons to take his seat but refused to swear on a Christian Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
asking to use only the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. This was permitted but when omitting the words "upon the true faith of a Christian" from the oath he was required to leave.
In 1851 a new Jewish Disabilities Bill was defeated in the House of Lords. In the 1852 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
Rothschild was again elected but the next year the bill was again defeated in the upper house.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
word for] God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
" for the ordinary form of oath, and thereupon took his seat as the first Jewish member of Parliament. He was re-elected in general elections in 1859 and 1865, but defeated in 1868; he was returned unopposed in a by-election in 1869 but defeated a second time in the general election in 1874.
Rothschild was proposed as a member of the House of Lords in 1868, but Queen Victoria refused to elevate him to this status. She denied that this was because Rothschild was a Jew. Instead the monarch claimed it was because of Rothschild's business activities, but few believed her. In 1885 the Queen did raise Rothschild's son Nathan to the peerage. Nathan Mayer de Rothschild became the first Jewish member of the House of Lords.
A fan of thoroughbred horse racing, his colt "Sir Bevys
Sir Bevys
Sir Bevys was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1878 to 1879 he ran six times and won two races. His most important success came in the 1879 Epsom Derby: his only other win was in a selling race...
" won the 1879 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
.
In 1836, Lionel de Rothschild married Baroness Charlotte von Rothschild
Charlotte von Rothschild
Charlotte von Rothschild was a German-born British socialite. She was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Naples, but was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany....
(1819-1884), the daughter of Baron Carl Mayer Rothschild
Carl Mayer von Rothschild
Carl Mayer von Rothschild was a German-born banker in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the founder of the Rothschild banking family of Naples....
of the Rothschild banking family of Naples
Rothschild banking family of Naples
The Rothschild banking family of Naples was founded by Calmann Mayer von Rothschild who was sent to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1821 by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild...
. They had the following children:
- Leonora (1837-1911)
- EvelinaEvelina de RothschildEvelina Gertrude de Rothschild was an English socialite and a member of the Rothschild banking family of England.-Biography:...
(1839-1866) - Nathan Mayer (1840-1915)
- Alfred CharlesAlfred de RothschildAlfred Charles de Rothschild was the second son of Lionel de Rothschild and Baroness Charlotte von Rothschild of the prominent Rothschild family....
(1842-1918) - LeopoldLeopold de RothschildLeopold de Rothschild CVO was a British banker, thoroughbred race horse breeder, and a member of the prominent Rothschild family.-Education and career:...
(1845-1917)
Lionel de Rothschild died in 1879 and his body was interred in the Willesden Jewish Cemetery
Willesden Jewish Cemetery
Willesden Jewish Cemetery is a cemetery for Jews in Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, London Borough of Brent. It opened in 1873 on a site. More properly, it is the Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery.-Notable burials:...
in the North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
suburb of Willesden
Willesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
.