Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted

Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted
Born	Marcus Samuel Template:Birth date Whitechapel, London, England
Died	January 17, 1927(1927-01-17) (aged 73)
Other names	Sir Marcus Samuel (1898–1921), Lord Bearsted (1921–1925)
Occupation(s)	Businessman, Lord Mayor of London
Years active	Late 19th century – early 20th century
Known for	Founder of Shell Transport and Trading Company; Lord Mayor of London

Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted (born 5 November 1853, died 17 January 1927), initially titled Sir Marcus Samuel from 1898 until 1921 and subsequently known as Lord Bearsted until 1925, served as a Lord Mayor of London and was the founder of the Shell Transport and Trading Company. This enterprise later merged with a Dutch-based corporation, commonly recognized today as Royal Dutch Shell.

Career

Originating from a Baghdadi Jewish background in Whitechapel, London, Samuel took over his father’s import-export firm, M. Samuel & Co., which maintained extensive trade connections throughout the Far East. The company was instrumental in launching London's first Japanese gold sterling loan in 1897 and played a pivotal role in introducing municipal loans from Japan while also fostering the development of Japan’s coal industry.

Educated in Edmonton and Brussels, Samuel embarked on extensive travels across Asia before fully engaging in business pursuits. His journeys included visits to Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Siam, the Philippines, China, and Japan. During a prospecting expedition to the Caucasus in 1890, he recognized the promising opportunities within the oil sector. The following year, he secured an exclusive nine-year contract with the Rothschild family to distribute kerosene east of the Suez Canal. He commissioned pioneering tankers designed to navigate the Suez Canal safely, beginning with the Murex, which voyaged from West Hartlepool to Batum in 1892. Subsequent ships were named after various seashells. By 1895, Samuel had acquired an oil concession in eastern Borneo, where oil reserves were discovered two years later.

In 1897, he founded the Shell Transport and Trading Company, a name inspired by his father’s original shell trading enterprise. That same year, he was appointed justice of the peace for Kent and became master of the Spectacle Makers' Company. He was knighted in recognition of his assistance to a British warship stranded at Port Said.

Samuel held numerous prominent positions within the City of London Corporation: elected Alderman for Portsoken ward in 1891, appointed Sheriff of London between 1894 and 1895, and served as Lord Mayor of London from 1902 to 1903. Throughout his mayoral tenure, he actively supported efforts toward London's unification and was granted a baronetcy in 1903. His official duties included visits such as one to Newcastle upon Tyne, where his wife christened a Shell petroleum steamer.

His public service extended to membership on the Commission for the Lieutenancy for the City of London, acting as visiting justice at Holloway and Newgate prisons, chairing a City committee connected with the Royal Commission on the Port of London (1900–02), representing shipowners on the Thames Conservancy board for three years, and serving as justice of the peace for Kent.

In 1907, Samuel’s firm merged with Royal Dutch Petroleum to establish the Royal Dutch/Shell Group—a holding company overseeing Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij’s production and refining operations alongside Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company’s transport and storage activities. Additionally, he held a directorship at Alliance Marine Assurance Company. Over time, M. Samuel & Co., which transitioned into a merchant banking institution, merged with Philip Hill, Higginson, Erlangers Ltd in 1965 to form Hill Samuel, now integrated within Lloyds TSB.

Acknowledged for his contributions during World War I, Samuel was elevated to 1st Baron Bearsted in 1921 and further advanced to Viscount Bearsted in 1925. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law (LLD) by the University of Sheffield.

Personal life

Samuel was born in Whitechapel, London, into a family of Iraqi Jewish heritage. In 1881, he wed Fanny Elizabeth Benjamin, the daughter of Benjamin Benjamin from Stranraer House, London. During a 1902 visit to Newcastle, Lady Samuel had the honor of serving as godmother to the steam tanker SS Silverlip.

He was known to engage in horseback riding daily within Hyde Park, London, and possessed a 500-acre estate in Kent called The Mote.

Titles

• Mr Marcus Samuel (1853–1898)
• Sir Marcus Samuel (1898–1903)
• Sir Marcus Samuel Bt. (1903–1921)
• The Rt. Hon. The Lord Bearsted Bt. (1921–1925)
• The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Bearsted Bt. (1925–1927)

See also

• The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power
• Nellie Ionides

References

• Biography, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

External links

• Shell International history
• Jewish Encyclopedia