Ernest Oppenheimer

Ernest Oppenheimer was born in Friedberg, German Empire, to a German-Jewish family. He was the son of Edward Oppenheimer, a cigar merchant, and his wife, Nanette (née Hirschhorn) Oppenheimer. He began his working life at 17, when he entered Dunkelsbuhler & Company, a diamond brokerage in London. In this role, he helped raise the manpower for the Kimberley Regiment for service during World War I. In 1917, they launched the Anglo American Corporation with financial assistance from J. P. Morgan. He would remain as a permanent director and its chairman until 1953. In 1952, he was appointed as a Knight of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. ==Personal life==

Ernest Oppenheimer married Mary Lina Pollak in 1906 in a Jewish ceremony in London, with a marriage certificate issued by West London Synagogue, a prominent Reform synagogue. The couple had two sons. In 1921, he was knighted for his role in the war. He therefore had the honorific title Sir. However, Lady Oppenheimer died in 1934. The following year, he married Caroline Magdalen Oppenheimer (née Harvey), widow of Sir Michael, 2nd Baronet Oppenheimer of Stoke Poges. He died in Johannesburg in 1957. Although he was born into a Jewish family, he converted to Anglicanism in adulthood. His ashes were interred in a niche of the columbarium at Parktown St George's Church, Parktown. He was succeeded in the business by his son, Harry Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer's brother, Sir Bernard Oppenheimer, was also heavily involved in the diamond industry, himself dying in 1921. ==Legacy==

In 1964, the Oppenheimer Diamond was named in his honour by its owner, Harry Winston, who donated the stone (not a gem, as it remains uncut and unpolished) to the Smithsonian Institution as a memorial. ==See also==