Albert Grant
Albert Grant (18 November 1831–30 August 1899) (born Abraham Gottheimer), was an Irish born company promoter.
Early life[edit]
Born in Dublin, Ireland. The family subsequently moved to London where his father became a partner in a business importing fancy goods. Abraham Gottheimer was educated in London and Paris, and assumed the name "Albert Grant" prior to his marriage in 1856. He entered employment as a clerk, later becoming a travelling salesman of wines.
Company promotion[edit]
In 1859 Grant established the first of a number of companies which were to fail at the expense of the shareholders. In 1872 he financed construction of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways. Subsequently he placed the company into receivership in 1877 but lost most of his own £83,500 investment.[1]
Later Life[edit]
From 1876 until his death, Grant was constantly being pursued by creditors in the courts. While most of his failing companies were British, he was involved in an international scandal involving the fraudulent sale of shares in the exhausted Emma Silver Mine in the USA. He was declared bankrupt in 1877, but attempted to regain his fortune by establishing a new bank in 1878. This failed, and he was again in the bankruptcy court in 1885. A third and final receiving order was made against him a few days before his death. Grant spent his last years in relative poverty. He died of heart failure at Pagham, Bognor Regis, aged 68.[2][3]
- ^ Johnson, Peter (2002). An Illustrated History of the Welsh Highland Railway. Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-860935-65-5. OCLC 59498388.
- ^ "Obituary. Baron Albert Grant". The Times. 31 August 1899. p. 4.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|newspaper=(help) - ^ For more information on Grant, see his Wikipedia entry