A S von Rothschild Foundation for the Promotion of Arts and Crafts, Frankfurt
The Anselm Salomon von Rothschild Foundation for the Promotion of Arts and Crafts was one of only two of the Rothschilds' many Frankfurt foundations which had cultural objectives. It was founded by Hannah Mathilde von Rothschild (1832-1924) in memory of her father Anselm Salomon. The statutes of the Foundation decreed that one third of the recipients of support were to be of the Jewish faith. The foundation survived during the period of Aryanisation by being incorporated into the Pestalozzi Foundation.
Carl von Rothschild Public Library, Frankfurt
A foundation to establish a free public library in Frankfurt was established by Hannah Louisa von Rothschild (1850-1892) in 1887. Named in memory of her father, Mayer Carl von Rothschild, the library was modelled on the free public library system which Hannah Louise had seen in England. After Hannah Louise's death in 1892, her mother, Louise, donated one million marks to ensure the perpetuity of the library. The library's first home was on Bethmannstrasse, but in 1907 the library took over 15 Untermainkai, the former Rothschild residence in Frankfurt. In the 1930s, the entire stock of the library was absorbed by the Frankfurt City and University Library.
Maison de l'lnstitut de France, London
In 1919, Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) made a substantial donation to the Institut de France to facilitate the creation of a residence in London in which visiting French students could stay and absorb aspects of English culture. Edmond hoped that the donation would encourage mutual respect between both nations, building on feelings of solidarity developed during the First World War.
Musée du Louvre, Paris
In 1936, Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) donated his collection of 40,000 prints and 6,000 drawings to the Louvre. His brother Alphonse had already bought over 2,000 works of contemporary French painting and sculpture and given them to over 150 museums, often to form the core of their collections.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
In 2015, the heirs of Mrs Bettina Lorram (née Rothschild) (1924-2012) made a gift to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston of 186 objects, originally owned by Baron and Baroness Alphonse and Clarice de Rothschild of Vienna, including European decorative arts, furniture, prints, drawings, paintings, and personal objects including jewellery and jewelled objects, and miniatures. Go to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston website »
Evelina de Rothschild School, Jerusalem
In 1864, Sir Moses Montefiore established a girls' school in Jerusalem, which subsequently came to be known as the Evelina de Rothschild School, in memory of the Evelina (1838-1866), daughter of Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879) who died in childbirth. The Rothschild family supported this school as well as the Rothschild Technical School for Boys which was run by the Alliance Israelite Universelle. By the early 1880s the Evelina school accommodated 184 pupils and was praised in reports of the Anglo-Jewish Association Council. An annual sum of £800 was provided by Evelina's brothers to cover all the running costs of the school, and Mrs Leopold de Rothschild (1862-1937) chaired the Committee of Ladies to supervise the curriculum. Under Miss Annie Landau, who joined the school in 1899, by the end of the 1st world war the Evelina was the 'best Jewish Girls School in Palestine', according to the Military Governor of Jerusalem.
The Jews' Free School, London
The Jews' Free School dates back to the year it was re-established at Bell Lane, Spitalfields, London, 1817, to provide basic education to the poor Jewish community in London's East End. Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836) was an early benefactor, and his widow, Hannah (1783-1850), established an accumulating fund for the permanent endowment of the school in memory of her husband who had been so closely interested in its progress. Hannah also took responsibility herself for providing a new outfit of clothing for every pupil each year, from 1822 until her death in 1850. The Rothschild family provided four active Presidents of the school, covering 115 years: Sir Anthony (1810-1876) (President 1847-1875); Nathaniel, 1st Lord Rothschild (1840-1915) (President 1876-1915); Leopold (1845-1917) (President 1915-1917) and Anthony Gustav (1887-1961) (President 1917-1961). Anthony's wife, Louise (1821-1910), together with her sisters-in-law Juliana (1831-1877) and Charlotte (1825-1899), sat on the Ladies' Committee, supervising tuition in the school. Charlotte and the daughters of Louise, Constance (1843-1931) and Annie (1844-1926), taught classes, all three subsequently publishing the texts of their lessons.
Universities
In the 1820s, the sons of Nathan Mayer Rothschild began to attend German universities, and then in the 1830s, Nathan's youngest son, Mayer Amschel (1818-1874) went to Cambridge, establishing a long connection with that university. In Frankfurt. Hannah Mathilde von Rothschild (1832-1924) supported the founding of the University of Frankfurt in 1912, with an exceptional sum of 500,000 Reichsmarks; the university (Goethe University Frankfurt) opened in 1914 as a citizens' university. In 1992, the Rothschild family helped found the Rothschild Visiting Professorship programme at the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences at Cambridge, and in 1998, as part of the bicentenary celebrations, the N M Rothschild & Sons Professorship of Mathematical Sciences chair was endowed at the Mathematics Faculty and a separate charitable trust was created to commemorate the life of Victor Rothschild - a Cambridge scholar with close associations to the University. The Victor Rothschild Memorial Fund was created to encourage the study of mathematics in schools and to assist especially gifted children from less privileged backgrounds. The late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (1931-2022) was closely involved with the University of Buckingham since its creation, and in 1996, the late Queen opened the Anthony de Rothschild Building at the University, which houses the School of Business.
