, founder of the British branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty. During the early part of the 19th century, the Rothschild family's London bank took a leading part in managing and financing the subsidies that the British government transferred to its allies during the
Napoleonic Wars. Through the creation of a network of agents, couriers and shippers, the bank was able to provide funds to the armies of the
Duke of Wellington in
Portugal and
Spain. In 1818, the Rothschild bank arranged a £5 million loan to the
Prussian government and the issuing of
bonds for government loans. The providing of other innovative and complex financing for government projects formed a mainstay of the bank's business for the better part of the century. The financial strength of N M Rothschild & Sons in the
City of London became such that by 1825–26, the bank was able to supply enough coin to the
Bank of England to enable it to avert a
liquidity crisis. Nathan Mayer's eldest son,
Lionel de Rothschild (1808–1879), succeeded him as head of the London branch. Under Lionel, the bank financed the British government's 1875 purchase of
Egypt's interest in the
Suez Canal. Lionel also began to invest in railways, as his uncle
James had been doing in France. In 1869, Lionel's son,
Alfred de Rothschild (1842–1918), became a
director of the Bank of England, a post he held for 20 years. Alfred was one of those who represented the British government at the 1892
International Monetary Conference in
Brussels. The Rothschild bank funded
Cecil Rhodes in the development of the
British South Africa Company, and
Leopold de Rothschild (1845–1917) administered Rhodes's estate after his death in 1902 and helped to set up the
Rhodes Scholarship scheme at
Oxford University. In 1873,
de Rothschild Frères in France and N M Rothschild & Sons of London joined with other investors to acquire the Spanish government's money-losing
Rio Tinto copper mines. The new owners restructured the company and turned it into a profitable business. By 1905, the Rothschild interest in Rio Tinto amounted to more than 30 per cent. In 1887, the French and English Rothschild banking houses loaned money to, and invested in, the
De Beers diamond mines in
South Africa, becoming its largest shareholders. The London banking house continued under the management of
Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1882–1942) and his brother
Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887–1961), and then to
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild (1931–2022). In 2003, following Sir Evelyn's retirement as head of N M Rothschild & Sons of London, the British and French financial firms merged under the leadership of
David René de Rothschild. == Other activities ==