Solomon Joel
Encyclopedia
Solomon Barnato Joel was a South African financier and mining
, brewing
and railway magnate.
. Along with his brothers Jack and Woolf, he was taken under the wing of Barney Barnato and made a fortune from the Barnato Diamond Mining Company. Within ten years, he had become a millionaire, primarily by buying seemingly worked-out diamond mines in South Africa
. On Barney Barnato's death in 1897, Solly became head of the family business, Barnato Brothers. Despite having a keen interest in diamonds, he played a greater role in the gold industry. He established the Van Ryn Deep in 1902, the Government Gold Mining Areas (Modderfontein) in 1910 and the New State Areas in 1918. He acquired control of Langlaagte Estate and Gold Mining Company and Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Company from J.B. Robinson
and became a director of the Diamond Syndicate.
's government, and was a prominent member of the Reform Committee. Having been found guilty of high treason for his part in the Jameson Raid
, Joel never dabbled in politics again.
was elected the Conservative Party
Member of Parliament
for Dudley
but was killed in action during World War II
.
Solly's brother Woolf Joel was the victim of homicide by a blackmailing con-man named Karl Frederic Moritz Kurtze or under his pseudonym of Ludwig von Veltheim, in Johannesburg
in 1898. Although there was plenty of evidence that von Veltheim was threatening Woolf Joel, the defense was that von Veltheim had not been properly compensated for planning a kidnap scheme against the Boer leader Paul Krueger. That, the all Boer jury, and the mixture of anti-British and anti-Semitic feelings towards the deceased enabled von Veltheim to avoid punishment. Freed, he was immediately deported from the Boer territories. For the next decade, von Veltheim was following a series of con-games in Europe, but in 1907, he turned up in London, and started making threatening demands on Solly. Turning to Scotland Yard, the police arrested von Veltheim. There was a trial for extortion, and von Veltheim tried the same defense he used in Johannesburg. This time the jury was unconvinced and found him guilty. He got a twenty-year sentence.
Solly Joel's interests were wide and varied and included many business concerns. He was also kept busy with his enlarged family's diamond and gold mining interests, activities in brewing, the theatre (the Drury Lane Theatre
in London) and railways (the City and South London Railway).
and breeding
. He owned Polymelus
, a five-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
who sired Pommern
, the 1915 English Triple Crown champion. He also established a stud
at New Farm, which was re-named Home Stud Farm located near his own estate. The Joel Stakes
at Newmarket Racecourse
is named in his honor.
In 1903 Joel purchased the Maiden Erlegh Estate in Earley
, near Reading
in Berkshire
. He was renowned for being a generous man who purchased the first motorised ambulance for the Royal Berkshire Hospital
. Another illustration of his generosity was exhibited when Sol Joel Park
close to his estate was given to the Corporation of Reading
in 1927. The official opening was undertaken by the then Duke of York
, who became King George VI and was again an extravagant event.
Solly Joel died in 1931 and immediately his estate and possessions were sold at auction. The Home Stud Farm was sold in 1932 but continued until the 1980s.
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
, brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
and railway magnate.
Career
Known as "Solly", he was born into a Jewish family, being one of three sons of Joel Joel (a London tavernkeeper of the King of Prussia), and Kate Isaacs, who was a sister of Barnett Isaacs, later to be called Barney BarnatoBarney Barnato
Barney Barnato , born Barnet Isaacs, was a British Randlord, one of the entrepreneurs who gained control of diamond mining, and later gold mining, in South Africa from the 1870s.-Background:...
. Along with his brothers Jack and Woolf, he was taken under the wing of Barney Barnato and made a fortune from the Barnato Diamond Mining Company. Within ten years, he had become a millionaire, primarily by buying seemingly worked-out diamond mines in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. On Barney Barnato's death in 1897, Solly became head of the family business, Barnato Brothers. Despite having a keen interest in diamonds, he played a greater role in the gold industry. He established the Van Ryn Deep in 1902, the Government Gold Mining Areas (Modderfontein) in 1910 and the New State Areas in 1918. He acquired control of Langlaagte Estate and Gold Mining Company and Randfontein Estates Gold Mining Company from J.B. Robinson
Joseph Benjamin Robinson
Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson, 1st Baronet was a South African mining magnate and Randlord. Born in Cradock, Cape Colony, died Wynberg, Cape Town....
and became a director of the Diamond Syndicate.
Politics
Early in his business career he supported the Uitlanders against Paul KrugerPaul Kruger
Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
's government, and was a prominent member of the Reform Committee. Having been found guilty of high treason for his part in the Jameson Raid
Jameson Raid
The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96...
, Joel never dabbled in politics again.
Family
Solly married a beautiful young actress named Ellen "Nellie" Ridley. While highly successful in business, in his personal life familial relationships were not always cordial. His dislike of his daughter Doris' choice of spouse continued until she divorced after four years, at which point he resumed normal relations. Solly also disapproved of one of his sons, Stanhope's, marriage for two years. His daughter Eileen became the first woman jockey to win an open race when she rode Hogier to victory in the Town Plate at Newmarket. His son Dudley JoelDudley Joel
Dudley Jack Barnato Joel was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.-Biography:Part of the wealthy and prominent Joel family, he was the son of businessman Solomon Barnato Joel and his wife Ellen Ridley and was married to Esme Oldham.Heavily involved in Thoroughbred horse racing,...
was elected the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
for Dudley
Dudley (UK Parliament constituency)
Dudley was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Dudley, which was historically in Worcestershire, before being transferred into Staffordshire in 1966 and since 1974 has been in the West Midlands....
but was killed in action during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Solly's brother Woolf Joel was the victim of homicide by a blackmailing con-man named Karl Frederic Moritz Kurtze or under his pseudonym of Ludwig von Veltheim, in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in 1898. Although there was plenty of evidence that von Veltheim was threatening Woolf Joel, the defense was that von Veltheim had not been properly compensated for planning a kidnap scheme against the Boer leader Paul Krueger. That, the all Boer jury, and the mixture of anti-British and anti-Semitic feelings towards the deceased enabled von Veltheim to avoid punishment. Freed, he was immediately deported from the Boer territories. For the next decade, von Veltheim was following a series of con-games in Europe, but in 1907, he turned up in London, and started making threatening demands on Solly. Turning to Scotland Yard, the police arrested von Veltheim. There was a trial for extortion, and von Veltheim tried the same defense he used in Johannesburg. This time the jury was unconvinced and found him guilty. He got a twenty-year sentence.
Solly Joel's interests were wide and varied and included many business concerns. He was also kept busy with his enlarged family's diamond and gold mining interests, activities in brewing, the theatre (the Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
in London) and railways (the City and South London Railway).
Thoroughbred horse racing
Solly Joel had success in thoroughbred horse racingThoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
and breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
. He owned Polymelus
Polymelus
Polymelus was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for five years . Among his most famous descendants are Secretariat and Northern Dancer. However, it was through his son Phalaris that he will forever be remembered...
, a five-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The list below shows the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1751. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.----- References :* -See also:...
who sired Pommern
Pommern (horse)
Pommern was a British bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1915 English Triple Crown and was best racehorse of his generation.-Pedigree:...
, the 1915 English Triple Crown champion. He also established a stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at New Farm, which was re-named Home Stud Farm located near his own estate. The Joel Stakes
Joel Stakes
The Joel Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September or early October.The event was formerly known...
at Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse
The town of Newmarket, in Suffolk, England, is the headquarters of British horseracing, home to the largest cluster of training yards in the country and many key horse racing organisations. Newmarket Racecourse has two courses - the Rowley Mile Course and the July Course. Both are wide, galloping...
is named in his honor.
In 1903 Joel purchased the Maiden Erlegh Estate in Earley
Earley
Earley is a town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. The Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area, for purposes of local government it falls within the Borough of Wokingham, outside of the jurisdiction of Reading Borough Council. The name...
, near Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. He was renowned for being a generous man who purchased the first motorised ambulance for the Royal Berkshire Hospital
Royal Berkshire Hospital
The Royal Berkshire Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.The...
. Another illustration of his generosity was exhibited when Sol Joel Park
Sol Joel Park
Sol Joel Park is a public park in Earley, a suburb in east Reading, Berkshire, England, on the Wokingham Road was given to the Corporation of Reading in 1927 by Solomon Joel...
close to his estate was given to the Corporation of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
in 1927. The official opening was undertaken by the then Duke of York
Duke of York
The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
, who became King George VI and was again an extravagant event.
Solly Joel died in 1931 and immediately his estate and possessions were sold at auction. The Home Stud Farm was sold in 1932 but continued until the 1980s.