Identity:

Albert Gottheimer, self-styled Baron Grant, was an MP, the owner of the Echo, a company promoter, and a collector.

Life:

He became notorious for his large-scale company share flotations which included the Central Uruguay Railway, the Belgian Public Works, Cadiz Waterworks, the Labuan Coal Company and Crédit Foncier and Mobilier of England which created a speculative fever amongst small investors although many of the schemes were ill-conceived and never produced a return.

Bibliography:

Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, 2004, on-line edition (accessed 23 July 2004).