Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, Dictionary of National Biography… (1890)
“ Goldsmid was, however, much more than a mere financier. The main effort of his life was spent in the cause of Jewish emancipation; he was also a prominent worker for unsectarian education and social reforms. ”
Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, Dictionary of National Biography… (1890)
“ His father, Asher Goldsmid, a bullion broker, was brother of Abraham Goldsmid [q. v.] Isaac Goldsmid, after a careful education, entered the firm of Mocatta & Goldsmid, bullion brokers to the Bank of England and to the East India Company. As bullion broker he was then, ipso facto, a member of the Stock Exchange, where up till 1828 only twelve Jewish brokers were admitted. He married, on 29 April 1804, Isabel, daughter of Abraham Goldsmid, his father's brother. As a financier Goldsmid gradually rose to considerable eminence and ultimately amassed a large fortune. ”
Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, Dictionary of National Biography… (1890)
“ After the Jewish Disabilities Bill was passed in 1859, Goldsmid (who upon the death of his father in the same year had succeeded to the baronetcy) was at length enabled to begin a parliamentary career, and he was elected in 1860 member for Reading, which borough he continued to represent till his death. In politics Goldsmid was a temperate liberal. He was the recognised spokesman of the Jewish community in parliament, and in many telling speeches called attention to the persecutions of the Jews in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. ”
