Albert Salomon von Rothschild (1844-1911)

Albert Salomon von Rothchild (1844-1911).

• Born: 29-10-1844 Vienna
• Died: 11-02-1911 Vienna

• He gave Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) 20,000 francs in 1900 in Paris.
• Mahler visited the Baron personally in Vienna in 01-1905 to ask for financial support for a Vereinigung also on behalve of Guido Adler (1855-1941) and Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951). Without success.
• Albert Salomon lived in House Rothchild – Heugasse 24-26.

His father, Anselm Salomon von Rothschild (1803-1874), had eight children:

1. Mayer Anselm Leon von Rothchild (1827-1828).
2. Caroline Julie Anselm von Rothchild (1830-1907), “Julie”, married Adolph Carl von Rothschild (1823-1900), cousin of her father, son of Carl Mayer von Rothschild at Naples, lived at Rothschild Castle in Pregny-Chambésy near Geneva.
3. Mathilde Hannah von Rothschild (1832-1924), married Freiherr Wilhelm Carl von Rothschild (1828-1901), cousin of her father, banker at Frankfurt.
4. Sarah Luisa von Rothchild (1834-1924), married Baron Raimondo Franchetti (1829-1905), lived at Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti in Venice.
5. Nathaniel Meyer Anselm von Rothchild (1836-1905), heir real estate, maecenas at Vienna. No Children. Buried at Central Cemetery, Vienna. Baron. Mentioned by Natalie Bauer-Lechner (1858-1921).
6. Ferdinand James von Rothchild (1839-1898), heir real estate, he married his second cousin Evelina de Rothschild (1839-1866), the daughter of Lionel de Rothschild (1808-1879), moved to the United Kingdom, had Waddesdon Manor (England) built from 1874.
7. Albert Salomon von Rothchild (1844-1911), heir, took over the running of the family’s Viennese bank. Known in the family as “Salbert,” he was educated in Vienna and Brünn/Brno. In 1876 Albert von Rothschild married Baroness Bettina Caroline de Rothschild (1858-1892) of Paris, France, daughter of Alphonse James de Rothschild. They had seven children.  Albert lived in Vienna in Palais Rothchild. The Palais was a palatial house in Vienna, one of five Palais Rothschild in the city owned by members of the Rothschild family. Heugasse 26, today Prinz-Eugen-Strasse 20-22, in the IVth (Wieden) district of Vienna. Commissioned by Albert von Rothschild, it was designed and built by the French architect Hippolyte Destailleur (1822-1893) between 1876 and 1884, and demolished in 1954. House Rothchild – Heugasse 24-26.
8. Alice Charlotte von Rothchild (1847-1922). Her mother died when she was twelve and as a result of her busy father who travelled constantly, she spent a lonely childhood, living with various relations. When her brother Ferdinand began the construction in 1874 of Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire England, Alice acquired a nearby property at Eythrope for herself. There, between 1876 and 1879, she had a park and garden created and a house built near the river called Eythrope Pavilion. Because she had suffered from rheumatic fever, she had been advised not to sleep near water as dampness would aggravate her health problem. As such, her house was built for daytime occupation only and at nights she returned to stay at Waddesdon Manor. Later she moved to Grasse, France.

Born in Vienna, son on of Anselm von Rothschild (29-01-1803 – 27-07-1874) and Charlotte von Rothschild (1807-1859). Known in the family as “Salbert,” he was educated in Vienna and Brünn/Brno.

On his father’s death in 1874, brothers Nathaniel and Ferdinand inherited most of their parents real estate and art collection. However, the family business went to Albert including the S M von Rothschild bank, the single largest shareholding in the Creditanstalt, and the shares in the Northern Railway. After two generations in Austria, communications between his family and the Rothschilds in England had diminished considerably but Albert wisely reinstated the regular exchange of vital information on current economic matters and politics in their respective countries.

In 1876, Albert von Rothschild married Baroness Bettina Caroline de Rothschild (1858–1892) of Paris, France, daughter of Alphonse James de Rothschild. They had seven children. Their firstborn was Georg von Rothschild (March 22, 1877 – January 10, 1934). He never married and died in a private mental hospital. The youngest, Oskar von Rothschild (1888-1909), never married and at age 21 committed suicide. Georg and Oskar are buried in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.

Albert von Rothschild owned several large properties including the Palais Albert Rothschild at Prinz-Eugen-Straße 20-22, in the IV. district Wieden district of Vienna designed by the French architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur and built between 1876 and 1882.

In December 1887 Albert and his wife were given the right to be presented at Court, the first time such a privilege had been granted in Austria to persons of the Jewish faith. Albert continued the family’s involvement in the arts and with philanthropic projects. He was a chess patron who helped to finance the Vienna tournaments of 1873, 1882, 1898, 1903 (Gambit) and 1908. He was also President of the Vienna Chess Association 1872-1883 and a strong amateur player. He took a special interest in institutions that provided assistance to Jewish artists and musicians. Following his wife’s death in 1892 at the young age of thirty-four, in her memory Albert von Rothschild built the Bettina Frauenspital (Bettina Hospital for Women) and a Bettina Rothschild begonia was named for her. The Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa named the large Main belt asteroid he discovered in 1885 the 250 Bettina in her honor as a benefactor of the Vienna Observatory.

Albert was awarded the Iron Cross of Merit in 1893 for his role in Austro-Hungarian monetary reform.

When his unmarried and childless brother Nathaniel died in 1905, Albert inherited his Palais Nathaniel Rothschild at 14-16 Theresianumgasse in Vienna along with its large collection of art.

Albert Salomon von Rothschild died in Vienna on February 11, 1911 and was interred next to his wife and their six-year-old daughter Charlotte in the city’s Zentralfriedhof. In recognition of Albert von Rothschild’s years of financial support, the 719 Albert Amor asteroid was named in his memory by astronomer Johann Palisa.

Albert Salomon von Rothcild (1884-1911) had seven children:

1. Georg Anselm Alphonse (1877-1934)
2. Alphonse Meyer de Rothschild (1878-1942)
3. Charlotte Esther von Rothschild (1879-1885)
4. Ludwig Nathaniel (1882-1955)
5. Eugène Daniel von Rothschild (1884-1976)
6. Valentine Noémi von Rothschild (1886-1969)
7. Oskar von Rothschild (1888-1909)