Mayer Carl von Rothschild
Mayer Carl Freiherr von Rothschild (5 August 1820 – 16 October 1886) was a German Jewish banker and politician, as well as scion of the Rothschild family.[2]
Mayer Carl Freiherr von Rothschild
Early life[edit]
Born in Frankfurt on 5 August 1820. He was a son of Adelheid (née Herz) and Carl Mayer von Rothschild.[3] Among his siblings were Charlotte (wife of Lionel de Rothschild), Adolphe Carl, Wilhelm Carl (1828–1901), and Anselm Alexander Carl, who died young.[4]
He studied law at the University of Göttingen and the University of Berlin.[5]
Career[edit]
After studying law, he joined the family banking firm M. A. Rothschild & Söhne in Frankfurt. Following the death of their uncle Amschel Mayer Rothschild, Mayer Carl and his brother Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild became heads of the firm.[6]
In 1854, the firm was made Banker to the Court of Prussia. He was appointed the Duchy of Parma consulship in Frankfurt, Consul of Bavaria and Austrian Consul-General and, in 1866, he took part in a Frankfurt delegation to Berlin to demand a reduction in the contribution to the war effort, was a deputy in the North German Diet, a member of the German Reichstag and took a seat on the Frankfurt city parliament.[5]
In 1871, Rothschild became the first Jewish member of the House of Lords of Prussia.[5]