Nathan Mayer Rothschild Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

NATHAN M. ROTHSCHILD (1777-1836), who created the bulk of his family's wealth with his bank, N.M. Rothschild, and his investments, was the third son of Mayer Rothschild, who had founded a money-lending business in Frankfurt and was the agent of the British government in subsidizing European sovereigns during the Napoléonic Wars. Nathan, who left for England in 1799, where he was a textile and general merchant before moving into finance, was one of the world's richest men when he died in 1836. Nathan's son Lionel was elected to Parliament but was not allowed to take his seat because he was Jewish. Lionel's son, Sir Nathan Mayer Rothschild, 1st Baron Rothschild, was the first Jew admitted to the House of Lords. His son, 2nd Baron Rothschild, received the Balfour Declaration in 1917.