James Armand de Rothschild

Who was James Armand de Rothschild?

James Armand Edmond de Rothschild, DCM, DL was a French-born British politician and philanthropist, from the wealthy Rothschild international banking dynasty.

"Jimmy" 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. He served in the First World War, at the outset as an enlisted man in the French Army, but ended the war as an officer in the British Army, serving in Palestine as a Major in the 39th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

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 at the age of 35 in 1913. She was 17 years old.

He became a naturalised Briton in 1919, 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 for Aylesbury from 1885 to 1898.