Rothschilds, the well-known family of bankers, take their name from the sign of the house ('Znm Rothen Schilde,' or 'red shield'), in the Jews' quarter of Frankfort, in which their ancestors lived. The real founder of the family as financial magnates was MEYER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHILD, who was born at Frankfort in 1743. Although educated for a rabbi, he embarked in the banking business at Hanover, and, having saved a little money, started for himself as a money-lender and dealer in old coins in the family home at Frankfort. He won the confidence of the landgrave of Hesse, who entrusted his finances to the Jew's management. The current story, that he successfully hid the fortune of the landgrave from the French invaders in 1806, and was through his patron's gratitude allowed to have the almost free use of it for some years, and so by this means laid the foundation of a large fortune, is extremely doubtful. The beginnings of his fortune were in all probability less romantic: the Rothschild house got a heavy commission for transmitting money from the English government to Wellington in Spain during the eight years of the Peninsular war; they managed the large private fortune of the landgrave; through them the British government made its payments of subsidies to continental princes; they negotiated large loans for Denmark between 1804 and 1812. At his death, on 13th September 1812, Meyer Amschel Rothschild left five sons, all of whom were made barons of the Austrian empire in 1822. ANSELM MEYER, the eldest son, born in 1773, died 1855, succeeded as head of the firm at Frankfort.
SOLOMON (1774-1855) established a branch at Vienna; NATHAN MEYER (1777-1836), a branch in 1798 at London; CHARLES (1788-1855), a branch at Naples (discontinued about 1861); and JAMES (1792-1868), a branch at Paris. Apart from their very extensive private banking business these houses have been deeply concerned in negotiating many of the large government loans of the 19th century. The cleverest man of the five was Nathan, who really lifted the house into its position as first amongst the banking-houses of the world. He pinned his faith and staked his fortunes on the success of Britain in her great duel with Napoleon, and is said to have been present himself at the battle of Waterloo, from which he hastened home to London, where, before the result of the battle became known, he had sold and bought stock that brought him one million sterling clear profit. He was succeeded by his son LIONEL (1808-79), who distinguished himself by his efforts to effect the civil and political emancipation of the Jews in Great Britain. The present head of the London branch is Lionel's son, SIR NATHAN (born 1840), who succeeded to the baronetcy conferred in 1847 on his uncle Anthony. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Rothschild in 1885. His niece Hannah (1851-90) was in 1878 married to the Earl of Rosebery. See Reeves, The Rothschilds (1887), and Das Haus Rothschild (Prague, 1857).