James de Rothschild (politician)

{{Short description|British Liberal politician and philanthropist (1878–1957)}}

{{for|the grandfather of this James de Rothschild, the founder of the Parisian branch of the Rothschild family|James Mayer de Rothschild}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name =James de Rothschild

| image = James Armand Edmond de Rothschild.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| constituency_MP = Isle of Ely

| term_start = 30 May 1929

| term_end = 15 June 1945

| predecessor = Hugh Lucas-Tooth

| successor = Harry Legge-Bourke

| birth_name = James Armand Edmond de Rothschild

| birth_date = {{birth date|1878|12|1|df=y}}

| birth_place = Paris, France

| death_date = {{death date and age|1957|5|7|1878|12|1|df=y}}

| death_place = London, England

| death_cause =

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| nationality =

| other_names =

| known_for = Member of British Parliament

| education =

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| party = Liberal

| boards =

| spouse = {{Marriage|Dorothy de Rothschild|1913}}

| children =

| parents = Edmond James de Rothschild
Adelheid von Rothschild

| relatives =

}}

James Armand Edmond de Rothschild DCM DL (1 December 1878 – 7 May 1957), sometimes known as Jimmy de Rothschild, was a British Liberal politician and philanthropist, from the wealthy Rothschild international banking dynasty.

Biography

De Rothschild was the son of Edmond James de Rothschild of the French branch of family. He was educated at Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris and at Trinity College, Cambridge.{{acad|id=RTST897JA|name=Rothschild, James Armand Edmond}} He served in the First World War, at the outset as an enlisted man in the French Army then as an officer in The Royal Canadian Dragoons, and ended the war as an officer in the British Army, serving in Palestine as a major{{London Gazette| issue=30584|supp=y|page=3449|date=15 March 1918}} in the 39th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers (part of the "Jewish Legion"). He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal prior to commissioning as an officer.

He was a keen follower of the turf and a racehorse owner. His 33-1 runner "Bomba" won the Ascot Gold Cup in 1909.

He married Dorothy Mathilde Pinto in 1913. She was 17 years old; he was 35.

He became a naturalised Briton in 1920,{{London Gazette| issue=31857|page=4253|date=9 April 1920}} and in 1922 he inherited from Alice de Rothschild the Waddesdon Manor estate of his great-uncle Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Aylesbury from 1885 to 1898.see Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild

Politics

Described by the Journal of Liberal History as "one of the Liberal Party's most colourful MPs",{{Cite web |url=http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/uploads/32-Autumn%25202001.pdf |title=32/Autumn 2001 |access-date=25 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001022739/http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/uploads/32-Autumn%202001.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2006 |url-status=dead }} Rothschild served as Liberal Member of Parliament for the Isle of Ely constituency from 1929 to 1945.see List of Liberal Party (UK) MPs

File:ירושלים - פרופסור ויצמן עם דגל הגדוד העברי-JNF029623.jpeg

File:ג'ימס רוטשילד-JNF012584.jpeg

His defeat by Harry Legge-Bourke in the 1945 general election was one of only a few gains by the Conservative Party that year, with his Liberal colleagues Archibald Sinclair and William Beveridge similarly losing to Tory opponents.

During the Second World War he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply in the Coalition Government 1940-1945. He was also a deputy lieutenant for the county of London and a justice of the peace in Buckinghamshire.

Philanthropy

File:28-6-25, Vincennes (i.e. Longchamp), vicomte d'Harcourt (à g. et) J.-A. de Rothschild (à d.) - (photographie de presse) - (Agence Rol).png in 1928]]

Rothschild continued to support his father's Zionist causes, and donated IL 6,000,000 towards the construction of the Knesset building in Jerusalem, which was completed in 1966.[https://www.knesset.gov.il/tour/eng/tour6.htm Knesset: Tour Station 6: The Cornerstone and Dedication Certificate]

When he died in 1957, he bequeathed Waddesdon Manor to the National Trust.see Waddesdon Manor His widow Dorothy de Rothschild inherited the surrounding estate, and maintained a strong interest in the house and collections until she died in 1988.

Sources

{{cite book |first=Dorothy |last=de Rothschild |title=Rothschilds at Waddesdon Manor |location= |publisher=Vendome Press |year=1979 |isbn=0-670-60854-8 }}
{{cite book

| first= Simon

| last= Schama

| authorlink= Simon Schama

| year= 1978 |location=London |publisher=Collins |isbn=0-00-216784-0

| title= Two Rothschilds and the Land of Israel

}}

Notes

External links

{{Hansard-contribs | mr-james-de-rothschild | James de Rothschild }}
[https://www.knesset.gov.il/lexicon/eng/rotchild_ja_eng.htm Short biography for James de Rothschild] Knesset website {{in lang|en}}
[https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/08/archives/james-armand-de-rothschild-dies-at-78-former-british-mp-owned-race.html New York Times obituary for James de Rothschild]

{{Succession box

| title = Member of Parliament for Isle of Ely

| years = 1929–1945

| before = Hugh Lucas-Tooth

| after = Harry Legge-Bourke

}}

Category:1878 births

Category:1957 deaths

Category:Military personnel from Paris

Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge

James Armand

Category:British Zionists