Portrait Bust of Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808-1879), wearing frock coat and bow tie, signed R C Belt and dated 1880.
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild
Lionel was born in London, the heir of Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836), founder of the London banking house. After serving an apprenticeship in the family business in London, Paris and Frankfurt. he entered the family partnership in 1836 at a family gathering in Frankfurt to celebrate his marriage to his cousin, Charlotte (1819-1884), on 15 June.
His father's death just days later left Lionel as senior partner in the new firm N M Rothschild & Sons. Lionel is remembered for becoming the first Jewish Member of Parliament, taking his seat in 1858, and for assisting the British Government to acquire shares in the Suez Canal in 1875.
