Sydney Stern, 1st Baron Wandsworth

Sydney James Stern, 1st Baron Wandsworth (1845 – 10 February 1912) was a British banker, Member of Parliament (MP) and philanthropist.

He was born in London, the eldest son of Viscount de Stern, senior partner of the firm of Stern Brothers, and Sophia, daughter of Aaron Asher Goldsmid, brother of Sir Isaac Lyon Goldsmid. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and for some time worked in his father's firm of Stern Brothers. He unsuccessfully contested the Middle Division of Surrey in 1880 and 1884, Ipswich, 1886, Tiverton, 1885, and was finally elected as MP for Stowmarket in 1891 and was created a peer on July 19, 1895. He was appointed J.P. for Surrey and London and was awarded the rank of honorary colonel in the 4th volunteer battalion of the East Surrey Regiment. He was vice president of the London and Counties Radical Union and held a Portuguese Viscountcy by right of his father. He left an estate of 1,555,984 pound sterling most of which was bequeathed to charity, over a million being given to found an orphanage in his name which was actually used to found Lord Wandsworth College.

References

*The Times March 20, 1912 pg.8
*Jewish Encyclopedia [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=35&letter=W online]
*Burke's Peerage, 1905, pg. 1660