Nicolai Gedalia

Nicolai Gedalia (1857 – November 13, 1880) was a Danish stock broker who dealt primarily in mining stocks. His father was a leading financier in Denmark and a financial agent of the Rothschilds in Copenhagen. Gedalia was a member of the Mining Board in New York City.

Prestigious father, education, and employment

His father was a Hebrew whose parents were destitute. As a youth he was apprenticed to a saddler in Copenhagen and he worked as a journeyman saddler there for years. He saved enough through business and speculation to open his own saddling firm and later a banking house in the Danish capital. His success as a speculator enabled him to become the agent of the Rothschilds in Denmark.

He was bestowed the title of baron by the Austrian government after he helped them in several financial transactions. He served as the counsul general of Portugal in Copenhagen and received the Order of Jesus from the King of Portugal. He encountered financial reverses in 1875 and 1876, finally going bankrupt after unsuccessfully speculating in railroads. He came to the United States in 1877 and attempted a new career which did not achieve a desired result. He returned to Denmark where he began a small banking business.

Nikolai Gedalia was educated in the office of his father in Copenhagen. He maintained an office at 70 Broadway, Manhattan after starting as a broker in the United States, in 1879. He was employed for a time by W.W. Hanly at 60 Broadway. His aged mother and an elder brother resided with him in a French flat on 58th Street near First Avenue (Manhattan).

Suicide

Gedalia was unable to make good on losses on two hundred shares of stocks, which were eventually sold by the Mining Board. His embarrassment regarding the decline of his finances continued even after his friends assisted him in settling with his creditors. He was forced to sell his seat on the board and looked for employment with either a bank or a broker's office. Gedalia stayed away from his office for a week after becoming depressed. He shot himself in the temple with a pistol at the age of 23, dying in his bedroom in November 1880.^[1]

References

1. ^ Overpowered By Misfortunes, New York Times, November 14, 1880, pg. 12.

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Name	Gedalia, Nicolai
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Date of birth	1857
Place of birth
Date of death	November 13, 1880
Place of death