Sigismund Neumann

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Sir Sigismund Neumann (Anglicized name Sigmund) (1857 – 1916) was a mining magnate (Randlord) and financier on the Witwatersrand.

Early life[]

Neumann was born in Fürth, Bavaria, on the 25th May, 1857 to Jewish parents, Gustav and Babette Neumann.^[1] In his late teens, he emigrated to South Africa to seek his fortune in the Kimberley diamond mines. He began as a diamond buyer for the firm V.A. & E.M. Littkie, but then moved to the Barberton gold fields and founded his own company when gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand.

First years on the Rand[]

His staff in Johannesburg included some of the most talented miners and technicians, including Charles Sydney Goldman, a man with extended experience in the mining industry; Henry Hames Friedlander, a member of the Johannesburg Reform Committee; William Daw, who in 1915 would become chairman of the Chamber of Mines; and Carl Hanau, who had an exceptional talent for futures speculation. Very soon, and long before many competitors, they became aware of the great potential in deep shaft mining; S. Neumann & Kie grew so quickly that in the mid-1890s it was already one of the top ten mining companies on the Rand, controlling the New Modderfontein, Witwatersrand Deep, and Cloverfield mines, and owning a stake in Randfontein Deep and West Rand Consolidated.

After the Second Boer War[]

In the years immediately following the Second Boer War, Neumann's empire expanded into several Transvaal coal mines as well as even more large-scale gold mines. The Witbank Colliery in time became one of the world's largest coal mines, producing around 40 million tons a year in the early 1970s, almost two-thirds of the South Africa's entire yield.

Emigration to England[]

Neumann began to focus eventually on his own business interests in London and became a naturalised British Citizen.^[1] In 1910, he visited South Africa for the last time, after which he resigned his managing directorship from his remaining Transvaal businesses. By 1912, most of his financial interests in South Africa had already been taken over by other companies. In London, he established a flourishing commercial bank in partnership with Martin Lübeck, former manager of the London branch of the Dresdner Bank. The new firm, Neumann, Luebeck, & Kie, was responsible for financing many new South African mining companies. He was also a director of the African Banking Corporation and the London Joint Stock Company.

Family[]

Neumann married Anna Allegra (1864 – 1951), daughter of Jacques Hakim of Alexandria in 1890, in Vevey, Switzerland.^[1] They had two sons and three daughters, all born in England:^[1]

• Cecil Gustavus Jacques (9 June 1891 – May 1955) who succeeded him as baronet of Cecil Lodge, married Joan F M Grimston in 1922 at St. Albans, Hertfordshire^[2]
• Sybil Rose Muriel Edith (born Apr – Jun 1895), married Victor M. Wombwell in 1920 at St George, Hanover Square.^[3]
• Rosie Violet Nina Millicent (born 25 July 1896 – 1988), unmarried.^[4]
• Ella Julie (born 1 March 1899 – 15th February 1925), unmarried.^[5]
• Guy Arthur (born 24 March 1904 – 1982),^[6] married Jean S. Loch in 1930 at Risbridge, Suffolk^[7]

Family vault of Sir Sigismund Neumann in Highgate Cemetery

Later life[]

In London, Neumann retired to live in a large mansion at 146 Piccadilly, London and was often received by King Edward VII at the latter's deer park near Invercauld Castle, 2 km from Balmoral Castle. He also owned a second home in Newmarket and from 1911 the family rented Raynham Hall in north Norfolk from the Townshend family.

He died aged 59 at "Remuera", Denton Road, Eastbourne, Sussex^[1] on 13 September 1916 and is buried with his wife Anna in a family vault on the east side of Highgate Cemetery.

References[]

Sources[]

• (af) Krüger, Prof. D.W. and Beyers, C.J. (chief ed.). , vol. III. Cape Town: Tafelberg-Uitgewers, 1977.