Person    | Male  Born 1853  Died 1906

Alfred Beit

Co-founder and funder (with Sir Julius Wernher) of the Royal School of Mines building.

Born Hamburg, learnt the diamond trade in Amsterdam and went to Kimberley where he met Wernher and Cecil Rhodes. In 1884 he and Wernher converted the firm Jules Porgès & Co into Wernher, Beit & Co. On his death he left vast sums of money for education and research in South Africa, Rhodesia, Britain and Germany.

His brother Otto, also made a fortune in the diamond trade. See Otto's page for the difficulties this is causing Imperial College in 2021.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Alfred Beit

Commemorated ati

Other Subjects

Robert Owen

Robert Owen

Socialist and philanthropist, father of the Co-operative movement. Born Wales. Learned the fabric trade and in 1784 was in London working for a retailer. But he quickly moved to Manchester where he...

Person, Industry, Paranormal, Social Welfare, Scotland, USA, Wales

1 memorial
Peter Pain

Peter Pain

A Huguenot refugee from Dieppe. He, along with his family and a French minister were killed by a massive gunpowder explosion at the Temple Mills in Leyton in 1690. Wikipedia puts the explosion "on ...

Person, Industry, Tragedy, France

1 memorial
James Wilson

James Wilson

Manufacturer, economist, journalist and public servant. Born Hawick, Scotland. Died Calcutta. Founder in 1843 of the Economist publication. Liberal MP, opponent of the Corn Laws. Founder of the Cha...

Person, Economist, Industry, Journalism / Publishing, India, Scotland

1 memorial
Brilliant Sign Company

Brilliant Sign Company

Signage company. It was named after their concept called the 'brilliant letter'. This comprised a pressed copper sheet with a v-shaped cross section so as to imitate the classic incised wooden fasc...

Group, Commerce, Industry

2 memorials