Robert Rundell Guinness

Last updated

Robert Rundell Guinness
Born(1789-12-12)December 12, 1789
DiedMarch 7, 1857(1857-03-07) (aged 67)
NationalityIrish
OccupationBanker

Robert Rundell Guinness (12 December 1789 -7 March 1857 [1] ) was an Irish banker, most famous for co-founding the Guinness Mahon bank in 1836.

Contents

The grandson of a Dublin goldbeater Samuel Guinness (1727-1795), he is the first of the "banking line" in the Guinness family.

Family

Robert was the son of Richard Guinness (1755-1829), a Dublin barrister and judge, and his wife Mary Darley, descended from a well-known Dublin house-building family. He was a grand-nephew of the brewer Arthur Guinness, and the elder brother of Richard Samuel Guinness MP.

He married firstly Mary Anne Seymour in November 1822, who died in 1837 at their home in Stillorgan, County Dublin. They had three children:

He remarried to Mary Anne Moore in June 1840, and they had 7 children, including

His grandson Henry Guinness became an Irish senator in 1922. His granddaughter Lucy Guinness was the wife of the painter Philip de László.

Guinness Mahon

Like his father, uncle and brother, Robert trained as a lawyer at the Kings Inns and was called to the bar in Dublin. Having run and dissolved a financial partnership with his brother Richard in 1836, he went into partnership in the same year with John Ross Mahon, principally as land agents, trading in Dublin as Guinness & Mahon; and from 1851 as Guinness Mahon & Company. [2]

In 1854 the firm moved to premises on College Green in the centre of Dublin, increasing its banking business, and adding lines in insurance and assurance.

From his death in 1857 the banking side was further developed by his sons Richard Seymour and Henry, who went on to arrange advantageous discounting terms in 1873 with the Bank of Ireland. [3]

Other interests

Guinness was elected a life member of the Royal Dublin Society from 1821, joining its botany committee in 1823-26; its economy committee in 1831-38; and its statistics committee in 1840–41. [4]

Notes

  1. Burke's Peerage 2003, volume 2, p.1694.
  2. Pohl M & Freitag S. Handbook on the History of European Banks Edward Elgar Publishing, 1994, p.1210. ISBN   9781781954218
  3. Jones F. The Rise of a Merchant Bank Dublin 1974, passim.
  4. "RDS website; past members. Accessed 24 September 2014".[ permanent dead link ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Ferguson</span> Irish poet, barrister and antiquarian

Sir Samuel Ferguson was an Irish poet, barrister, antiquarian, artist and public servant. He was an acclaimed 19th-century Irish poet, and his interest in Irish mythology and early Irish history can be seen as a forerunner of William Butler Yeats and the other poets of the Irish Literary Revival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Thompson (American banker)</span> American banker (1802–1891)

John Thompson was an American banker, financial publisher, and dealer in bank notes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinness family</span> Prominent Irish & British family in brewing, banking, and politics

The Guinness family is an extensive Irish family known for its accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics, and religious ministry. The brewing branch is particularly well known among the general public for producing the dry stout Guinness Beer. The founder of the dynasty, Arthur Guinness, is confirmed to have had McCartan origins. Beginning in the late 18th century, they became a prominent part of what is known in Ireland as 'the Ascendancy'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randolph family of Virginia</span>

The Randolph family of Virginia is a prominent political family, whose members contributed to the politics of Colonial Virginia and Virginia after statehood. They are descended from the Randolphs of Morton Morrell, Warwickshire, England. The first Randolph in America was Henry Randolph in 1643. His nephew, William Randolph, later came to Virginia as an orphan in 1669. He made his home at Turkey Island along the James River. Because of their numerous progeny, William Randolph and his wife, Mary Isham Randolph, have been referred to as "the Adam and Eve of Virginia". The Randolph family was the wealthiest and most powerful family in 18th-century Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Gurney (1786–1856)</span>

Samuel Gurney was an English banker and philanthropist from the Gurney family of Norwich. He should not be confused with his second son, Samuel (1816–1882), also described as banker and philanthropist, and a Member of Parliament.

Henry Seymour Guinness was an Irish engineer, banker and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendelssohn family</span> Notable German Jewish family

The Mendelssohn family are the descendants of Mendel of Dassau. The German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn and his brother Saul were the first to adopt the surname Mendelssohn. The family includes his grandson, the composer Felix Mendelssohn and his granddaughter, the composer Fanny Mendelssohn.

Mary Catherine Guinness Ferguson (1823–1905) was an author and biographer in Dublin, Ireland.

The Rothschild family is a European family of German Jewish origin that established European banking and finance houses from the late eighteenth century.

The Gurneys were an influential family of English Quakers, who had a major part in the development of Norwich, England. They established Gurney's Bank in 1770, which merged into Barclays Bank in 1896. Members of the family still live in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Stebbing (editor)</span>

Henry Stebbing FRS (1799–1883) was an English cleric and man of letters, known as a poet, preacher, and historian. He worked as a literary editor, of books and periodicals.

Richard Samuel Guinness was an Irish lawyer and a Member of Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Guinness II</span>

Arthur Guinness was an Irish brewer, banker, politician and flour miller active in Dublin, Ireland. To avoid confusion with his father, also Arthur Guinness (1725–1803), he is often known as "the second Arthur Guinness" or as Arthur Guinness II or Arthur II Guinness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Moore (sculptor)</span>

Christopher Moore RHA MRIA MRHA (1790–1863) was an Irish-born sculptor operational mainly in England in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hone family</span> Anglo-Irish family

The Hone family is an Anglo-Irish family dating back to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland when Samuel Hone arrived with the Parliamentary army in 1649. The family is believed to be of Dutch extraction, although no connection to the Netherlands has yet been found.

George Udny (1803–1879) was a British civil servant in India, barrister and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appleton family</span>

The Appleton family is an American political, religious and mercantile family.