Schon was born in
Vienna, the son of Dr Frederick Schon, a lawyer. He was educated at the Rainer
Gymnasium. In 1931, he joined a chemicals firm with a subsidiary office in
Prague, and studied law at the universities of
Vienna and
Prague as an external student. In March 1939, ten days after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, Schon, who was Jewish, escaped to Britain with his wife. He moved to
Whitehaven and established Marchon Products, a chemicals firm, which became a leading supplier of detergent base. In 1956, he merged his firm with the rival firm Albright & Wilson, becoming a director of the latter. Due to a dispute with the board, he resigned from the firm in 1957. On 27 January 1976, Schon was created a
life peer, as
Baron Schon of Whitehaven, in the county of
Cumbria. He is buried in the
Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden. == Coat of arms ==