Tom Baring
Thomas Baring | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Cromer Hall, Cromer, Norfolk, England |
| Died | June 4, 1923 (aged 84) Newmarket, Suffolk, England |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, banker |
| Years active | 1860s–1912 |
| Known for | Managing Director of Baring Brothers and Co. Limited |
Thomas Baring (21 March 1839 – 4 June 1923) was a notable British financier.
Early life
Born at Cromer Hall, located in Cromer, Norfolk, Baring was a member of the distinguished Baring family. Nicknamed "Tom," he was the tenth offspring and the fifth child from the second marriage of Henry Baring and Cecilia Anne Windham. His father’s first marriage had been to Maria Matilda Bingham, daughter of U.S. Senator William Bingham. Among his siblings were his half-brother Henry Bingham Baring, an MP, as well as his younger brothers Edward, who became the 1st Baron Revelstoke, and Evelyn, who inherited Cromer Hall and was titled the 1st Earl of Cromer.
On his paternal side, his grandparents were Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet and Harriet Herring. His maternal lineage included Vice-Admiral William Lukin Windham and Anne Thellusson, daughter of the Genevan financier Peter Thellusson.
Career
Baring launched his banking profession at the Liverpool branch of Barings Bank. Subsequently, he moved to New York City to work with Kidder Peabody. When Kidder Peabody divided its Boston and New York operations in 1890, he became a partner in the New York division. Together with George C. Magoun, he established Baring, Magoun & Co., which acted as North American representatives for Barings.
After the financial turmoil faced by Barings during the Panic of 1890 and the death of senior partner Thomas Charles Baring in 1891, Tom returned to London in 1892 to assume the role of Managing Director at the restructured Baring Brothers and Co. Limited. In 1896, he joined the newly formed Barings partnership that supervised the limited company, maintaining both positions until his retirement in 1912. Although he was the senior partner by age, leadership responsibilities were assigned to his nephew John Baring, 2nd Baron Revelstoke.
Personal life
In 1901, Baring wed Constance Barron, an heiress and daughter of William Barron and Fanny Louisa Lonergan. Her sister Agnes Barron had married Baron Alexandre de Stoeckl in 1892 and served as lady-in-waiting to Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark. The couple had two sons:
- Richard Baring (1902–1940), who married Violetta Archer—niece of Lord George Dundas—in 1922. Following her death in a 1931 aviation accident, he remarried Margaret Sutton in 1932.
- Edward Thomas Baring (1903–1980), who married heiress Virginia Ryan, granddaughter of financier Thomas Fortune Ryan, in 1926. After their divorce in 1949, he married Pauline Alison Boden in 1950. Virginia subsequently wed Albert J. Beveridge Jr., son of U.S. Senator Albert J. Beveridge, in 1955.
Thomas Baring passed away on 4 June 1923 at Newmarket, Suffolk. His wife died on 3 July 1948.