Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, the style he used in Britain, or Ferdinand James Anselm, Freiherr von Rothschild was a France-born, Austrian-turned British and Jewish banker, art collector, and politician, who was a member of the prominent Rothschild family of bankers.
Background
Although Ferdinand von Rothschild was born in Paris, he was from Vienna and a part of the Rothschild banking family of Austria. He was the second son of Baron Anselm von Rothschild (1803–1874) and his English wife Charlotte von Rothschild née Rothschild (1807–1859).
Career
He was a Liberal, later Liberal Unionist, Member of Parliament who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1898. He held the hereditary title Freiherr (Baron) in the Austrian nobility. He became a British subject and moved from Vienna to London.
In her memory, Ferdinand built, equipped and endowed the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children in Southwark, south London.
He began terms as Treasurer of the Jewish Board of Guardians in 1868 and 1875, and as Warden of the Central Synagogue in 1870. An offer he made of £2,000 to anyone who could suggest a useful way of spending it led to the foundation of the Army Reservists" Home.
In 1874, he bought an estate near the village of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire and between 1874 and 1889 built Waddesdon Manor, designed by Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur in an eclectic style based on the 16th-century French Chateau de Chambord. In 1883, Ferdinand de Rothschild was High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.
In 1886, over the issue of Irish Home Rule, he joined the Liberal Unionists, and he hosted meetings at Waddesdon (where Joseph Chamberlain, Arthur Balfour and Lord Randolph Churchill were often guests) that led to the formation of the Unionist-Conservative alliance.
From 1896 he was a Trustee of the British Museum, probably at the instigation of Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks. His death was hastened by a cold caught when last visiting his wife"s tomb. His collection of Renaissance objets d"art from the house was bequeathed to the British Museum as the "Waddesdon Bequest".
The Holy Thorn Reliquary was a highlight of the collection, though its distinguished provenance was still unknown.
Membership
23rd United Kingdom Parliament. 24th United Kingdom Parliament. 25th United Kingdom Parliament.
26th United Kingdom Parliament.