Alfred Beit
Encyclopedia
Alfred Beit was a German
, British
South African
, Jewish gold and diamond magnate, a supporter of British imperialism
in Southern Africa and a major donor towards infrastructure development in central and Southern Africa, and to university education and research in several countries.
, Germany
, he was the eldest son and second of six children of an affluent Hamburg trader. He was an unpromising scholar and was apprenticed to Jules Porgès
& Cie, the Amsterdam diamond firm where he developed a talent for examining stones.
Beit made his first fortune in property speculation. Responding to a demand for business premises, he bought a piece of land and built twelve corrugated iron sheds for offices and rented eleven out monthly and kept one for himself. Twelve years later he sold the land for a considerable profit.
Beit was sent to Kimberley in 1875 by his firm to buy diamonds - following the diamond strike at Kimberley. He became a business friend of Cecil Rhodes through his role in the Kimberley Central Company. Beit was captivated by Rhodes' talk of 'big schemes'. Together, they proceeded to buy out digging ventures and to eliminate opposition such as Barney Barnato
. He rapidly became one of a group of financiers who gained control of the diamond-mining claims in the Central, Dutoitspan, and De Beers
mines. Rhodes was the active politician and Beit provided a lot of the planning and financial backing.
Beit's diamond interests were mainly concentrated on Kimberley mine. He focused his main attention on the Kimberley Central Company aiming to expand its interests. He had a major role in the rise of Kimberley Central Company.
In 1886 Beit extended his interests to the newly-discovered goldfields of the Witwatersrand
and met with great success. In his business ventures there he made use of financiers Hermann Eckstein
and Sir Joseph Robinson
. He founded the Robertson Syndicate and the firm of Wernher, Beit & Co. He imported mining engineers from the USA and was among the first to adopt deep-level mining. Rhodes concluded a treaty with Lobengula
, promising 100 rifles in return for concessions encompassing most of Matebeleland.Thus, through deception, Beit founded the British South Africa Company
in 1888. The rifles were never delivered, furthermore Lobengula was illiterate as were the "interpreters" present at "signing". Lobengula later dispatched an emissary to Her Majesty seeking an explanation for the deception.
Beit became life-governor of De Beers and also a director of numerous other companies such as Rand Mines, Rhodesia Railways and the Beira Railway Company.
In 1888 Beit moved to London whence he felt he was better able to manage his financial empire and support Rhodes in his Southern African ambitions. Beit moved into Tewin Water, near Welwyn
, a large Regency house with Victorian additions and 7,000 acres (28 km²), and a few miles away Julius Wernher
at last bought Luton Hoo, with 5,218 acres (21.1 km²).
Capitalizing on Rhodes' "imperialist" vision, he took part in the planning and financing of the unsuccessful Jameson Raid
of late 1895 which was intended to trigger a coup in the South African Republic
in the Transvaal. As a result of this debacle, Rhodes resigned as Prime Minister, and both he and Beit were found guilty by the House of Commons inquiry. Beit was obliged to resign as director of the Charter Company, but was elected vice-president of the British South Africa Company a few years later due to his wealth and myriad of highly-placed accomplices. With the death of Rhodes in 1902, Beit, as one of the trustees, helped control the enormous estate.
Beit never married and had no children. He died at Tewin Water near Tewin
, Hertfordshire
on 16 July 1906 after seeing a rapid deterioration in his health.
, which is now the Beit Professor of History of the British Commonwealth. In 1906 he made the donation of two million mark to the stock capital of the Hamburgische Wissenschaftliche Stiftung, a charity dedicated to spend its interest for the benefit of a precursor of the University of Hamburg
.
In his will he set up the Beit Trust through which he bequeathed large sums of money (£1,200,000) for infrastructure development in the former North and South Rhodesia, later modified to university education and research in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.http://www.beittrust.org.uk
In recognition of his bequests the Royal School of Mines
, a faculty of Imperial College London
, erected a large memorial to Beit flanking the entrance to its building. The Imperial College residential halls on Prince Consort Road
was named 'Beit Hall' after him.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
South African
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
, Jewish gold and diamond magnate, a supporter of British imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
in Southern Africa and a major donor towards infrastructure development in central and Southern Africa, and to university education and research in several countries.
Life and career
Born and brought up in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he was the eldest son and second of six children of an affluent Hamburg trader. He was an unpromising scholar and was apprenticed to Jules Porgès
Jules Porgès
Jules Porgès was a Paris-based financier who played a central role in the rise of the Randlords who controlled the diamond and gold mining industries in South Africa....
& Cie, the Amsterdam diamond firm where he developed a talent for examining stones.
Beit made his first fortune in property speculation. Responding to a demand for business premises, he bought a piece of land and built twelve corrugated iron sheds for offices and rented eleven out monthly and kept one for himself. Twelve years later he sold the land for a considerable profit.
Beit was sent to Kimberley in 1875 by his firm to buy diamonds - following the diamond strike at Kimberley. He became a business friend of Cecil Rhodes through his role in the Kimberley Central Company. Beit was captivated by Rhodes' talk of 'big schemes'. Together, they proceeded to buy out digging ventures and to eliminate opposition such as Barney Barnato
Barney Barnato
Barney Barnato , born Barnet Isaacs, was a British Randlord, one of the entrepreneurs who gained control of diamond mining, and later gold mining, in South Africa from the 1870s.-Background:...
. He rapidly became one of a group of financiers who gained control of the diamond-mining claims in the Central, Dutoitspan, and De Beers
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
mines. Rhodes was the active politician and Beit provided a lot of the planning and financial backing.
Beit's diamond interests were mainly concentrated on Kimberley mine. He focused his main attention on the Kimberley Central Company aiming to expand its interests. He had a major role in the rise of Kimberley Central Company.
In 1886 Beit extended his interests to the newly-discovered goldfields of the Witwatersrand
Witwatersrand
The Witwatersrand is a low, sedimentary range of hills, at an elevation of 1700–1800 metres above sea-level, which runs in an east-west direction through Gauteng in South Africa. The word in Afrikaans means "the ridge of white waters". Geologically it is complex, but the principal formations...
and met with great success. In his business ventures there he made use of financiers Hermann Eckstein
Hermann Eckstein
Hermann Ludwig Eckstein was a South African mining magnate and banker.-Life history:Born in Hohenheim near Stuttgart, Germany to a Lutheran minister, he received an excellent education...
and Sir Joseph Robinson
Joseph Benjamin Robinson
Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson, 1st Baronet was a South African mining magnate and Randlord. Born in Cradock, Cape Colony, died Wynberg, Cape Town....
. He founded the Robertson Syndicate and the firm of Wernher, Beit & Co. He imported mining engineers from the USA and was among the first to adopt deep-level mining. Rhodes concluded a treaty with Lobengula
Lobengula
Lobengula Khumalo was the second and last king of the Ndebele people, usually pronounced Matabele in English. Both names, in the Sindebele language, mean "The men of the long shields", a reference to the Matabele warriors' use of the Zulu shield and spear.- Background :The Matabele were related to...
, promising 100 rifles in return for concessions encompassing most of Matebeleland.Thus, through deception, Beit founded the British South Africa Company
British South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
in 1888. The rifles were never delivered, furthermore Lobengula was illiterate as were the "interpreters" present at "signing". Lobengula later dispatched an emissary to Her Majesty seeking an explanation for the deception.
Beit became life-governor of De Beers and also a director of numerous other companies such as Rand Mines, Rhodesia Railways and the Beira Railway Company.
In 1888 Beit moved to London whence he felt he was better able to manage his financial empire and support Rhodes in his Southern African ambitions. Beit moved into Tewin Water, near Welwyn
Welwyn
Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands. It is sometimes called Old Welwyn to distinguish it from the newer settlement of Welwyn Garden City, about a mile to the south.-History:Situated in the valley of the...
, a large Regency house with Victorian additions and 7,000 acres (28 km²), and a few miles away Julius Wernher
Julius Wernher
Sir Julius Charles Wernher, 1st Baronet was a German-born Randlord and art collector who became part of the English establishment.-Life history:...
at last bought Luton Hoo, with 5,218 acres (21.1 km²).
Capitalizing on Rhodes' "imperialist" vision, he took part in the planning and financing of the unsuccessful Jameson Raid
Jameson Raid
The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96...
of late 1895 which was intended to trigger a coup in the South African Republic
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
in the Transvaal. As a result of this debacle, Rhodes resigned as Prime Minister, and both he and Beit were found guilty by the House of Commons inquiry. Beit was obliged to resign as director of the Charter Company, but was elected vice-president of the British South Africa Company a few years later due to his wealth and myriad of highly-placed accomplices. With the death of Rhodes in 1902, Beit, as one of the trustees, helped control the enormous estate.
Tewin
Tewin is a village in the English county of Hertfordshire, between the towns of Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Welwyn and the county town Hertford, it is within commuting distance of London...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
on 16 July 1906 after seeing a rapid deterioration in his health.
The Beit Trust and other donations
During his lifetime, Beit made generous donations for scientific work and education. In 1905 he founded a chair of colonial history at the University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, which is now the Beit Professor of History of the British Commonwealth. In 1906 he made the donation of two million mark to the stock capital of the Hamburgische Wissenschaftliche Stiftung, a charity dedicated to spend its interest for the benefit of a precursor of the University of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
.
In his will he set up the Beit Trust through which he bequeathed large sums of money (£1,200,000) for infrastructure development in the former North and South Rhodesia, later modified to university education and research in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.http://www.beittrust.org.uk
In recognition of his bequests the Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines
Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London.- History :The Royal School of Mines was established in 1851, as the Government School of Mines and Science Applied to the Arts...
, a faculty of Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
, erected a large memorial to Beit flanking the entrance to its building. The Imperial College residential halls on Prince Consort Road
Prince Consort Road
Prince Consort Road is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The road is named for Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria. The road is located between Queen's Gate to the west, and Exhibition Road to the east, and runs parallel to Kensington Gore.Several notable buildings have...
was named 'Beit Hall' after him.
See also
- Sir Otto BeitOtto BeitSir Otto John Beit, 1st Baronet, KCMG, FRS was a German-born British financier, philanthropist and art connoisseur.- Life history and career :...
, 1st Bt (1865–1930), his brother - Sir Alfred Lane Beit, 2nd Bt (1903–1994), his nephew