Julius Beer (1836–1880) was a German-born English businessman, banker and newspaper baron. He owned The Observer from 1870 to 1880.
Early life Julius Beer was born in 1836 in Frankfurt, Germany.Max Egremont, Siegfried Sassoon, Pan Macmillan, 2006, p. 17
Career Beer made his fortune in the London Stock Exchange.British Listed Buildings: Mausoleum of Julius Beer in Highgate (Western) Cemetery, Camden He was a member of the London Banking Association.Phillip Cottrell, Investment Banking in England 1856-1881, Routledge, 2013, p. 495
In 1870, he purchased The Observer newspaper, which he owned until his death in 1880.
Personal life Beer was married to Thyrza Beer (died 1881).First Lady of Fleet Street They had a son and a daughter: Frederick Arthur Beer (died 1901; married Rachel Sassoon (1858–1927)).Jewish Women's Archive Ada Sophia Beer (1867–1875, died aged 8 years old) The main sculpture by Henry Hugh Armstead inside the Beer Mausoleum at Highgate Cemetery represents this young girl being protected by an angel.
Beer died in 1880.Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History His mausoleum in Highgate Cemetery has been listed as Grade II* since 14 May 1974.Elisabeth Hewes, Betty's Travel Journals, Paragon Publishing, 2011, p. 152 It was designed by the French/Dutch architect William Bouwens van der Boijen (1801–1907). The English architect John Oldrid Scott (1841–1913) was the executant architect overseeing construction. Scott made some small changes to van der Boijen's design.Dungavell, I. 2023. 'The real designer of Highgate’s Beer mausoleum' in Mausola, Summer 2023, pp. 6-15. Scott had, before recent research, been named as the architect in various sources.Bridget Cherry, London: North, Yale University Press, 1998, p. 354 Interred in it are: Ada Sophia Beer (his daughter, d.1875) Julius Beer (d.1880) Thyrza Beer (his wife, d.1881) Arnold Beer (his brother, d.1880) Frederick (his son, d.1901)
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