Carl Mayer von Rothschild

Carl Mayer Freiherr von Rothschild (24 April 1788 – 10 March 1855) was a Frankfurt-born banker in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the founder of the Neopolitan branch of the prominent Rothschild family. Life and career Born as Kalman Mayer Rothschild in Frankfurt am Main, he was the fourth of the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743–1812) and his wife, Gutlé Schnapper (1753–1849). He would become known as "Carl" by the family except for his English relatives, who translated it as "Charles". Raised in an increasingly prosperous family, he was trained in his father's banking business and lived at home until age twenty-nine, when he acquired a modest residence at 33 Neue Mainzer Strasse in Frankfurt in preparation for his marriage on 16 September 1818 to Adelheid Herz (1800–1853). They would have the following children: Charlotte (1819–1884), who married Lionel de Rothschild Mayer Carl (1820–1886) (1823–1900) Wilhelm Carl (1828–1901) Anselm Alexander Carl (1835–1854) Wanting to expand the family business across Europe, the eldest Rothschild son (Amschel) remained in Frankfurt, while the other sons were sent to different European cities to establish banking branches. The 1821 occupation of Naples by the Austrian army provided the opportunity for the Rothschilds to set up business in the Kingdom. Carl Rothschild was therefore sent to Naples, where he established C M de Rothschild & Figli to operate as a satellite office of the Rothschild banking family's headquarters in Frankfurt.