Mocatta (also de Mattos Mocatta, Lumbroso de Mattos Mocatta and Lumbrozo de Mattos Mocatta) is a surname.
The Mocatta family is a leading
Anglo-Jewish family that traces its ancestry to the
Sephardic Jewish communities of Spain and Portugal prior to the
Inquisition. The family's forebears initially sought refuge in
Amsterdam and
Venice, before immigrating to England in the 1650s. They were among the first twelve Jewish families admitted by
Cromwell.[1] In London in 1671, Moses Mocatta established the firm that became
Mocatta & Goldsmid; for 300 years it was the world’s leading
bullion broker. Although the family sold their stake in the company in the late twentieth century and exited the bullion business, the family continues its tradition of business and charity.[2]
The family became known for
philanthropy, leadership and sponsorship of
arts and letters, particularly in the United Kingdom.[3] Long involved in finance and the law, they are considered to be one of the principal families in the "cousinhood" of senior Anglo-Jewish families,[4] the de facto Anglo-Jewish
aristocracy.[5]
The Mocatta firm
In 1671, Moses Mocatta established a business in London that became Mocatta & Goldsmid. This was the foundation of the modern gold and silver market.[6] The Mocatta business was the world's leading bullion broker through the 18th century, and first traded with India in 1676 and with China in the 1720s.[7] Licensed at the
Royal Exchange from 1710, for more than a century, the family firm acted as exclusive bullion brokers to the Bank of England. In 1810, the Mocatta firm's managing partner appeared before Parliament's Select Committee on the High Price of Gold Bullion, when asked: 'Are there any other dealers in gold but yours', he replied, 'I apprehend none of considerable amount.'[8]
Mocatta was later involved in market stabilisations. Edgar Mocatta had a notable role in ending the Indian silver crisis of 1913.[9] In the late 20th century, the Mocatta firm was closely involved in providing liquidity and stability following the Hunt silver corner of 1980.[10] In association with
NM Rothschild, in 1897 and 1919 respectively, Mocatta & Goldsmid established the price discovery mechanisms for silver and gold used into the 21st century.[11] Between 1671 and the 1970s, the Mocatta firm was headed by just seven men.[12]
Ten members of the family have served as Chairman or President of the West London Synagogue of British Jews. Moses Mocatta served as
President of the Board of Deputies, and family members have participated in communal leadership positions such as the Board of Shechita,[14] Chairman of
Jews’ College,[15] and Elders of
Bevis Marks. The family also participated in the Oxford and St George's Club (Bernhard Baron St George's Jewish Settlement)[16] and other such initiatives for the relief of the poor.
The family led the Jewish community's efforts for the relief of famine in Ireland in the mid-19th century.[17]
The family were leaders in the protest at the persecution of Jews in
Romania and
Bessarabia.[18]
David Mocatta donated funding for major parts of the building of the
Royal Marsden, the first hospital in the world dedicated to the study and treatment of
cancer.[22]
Frederic Mocatta was a founder of the Industrial Dwellings Society, which provided the London poor with adequate housing. Today it provides low-income key workers with low-cost housing.[23]
Dendrobium Manon Mocatta, a Singapore orchid named in 1965[33]
Mocatta Committee (Treasury Committee on Cheque Endorsement)[34]
The Mocatta President's Cup Trophy at the Brisbane Golf Club[35]
The Mocatta Library at
University College London (the UK's Jewish Studies Library, a collection of 185,000 items of Jewish history)[36]
The Mocatta Haggadah, a 13th Century Castilian manuscript[37]
David Mocatta, a bus named by the City of Brighton[38]
Broker's Token, 1824–34, a coin struck with the face of NM Rothschild "The Bull" and Moses Mocatta "The Bear", the leading London financiers of the day[39]
Notable members
The family features prominently in the Anglo-Jewish "Cousinhood", the aristocracy of related, socially-prominent Jewish families that includes the
Rothschilds, the
Goldsmids, the
Montagus, the
Montefiores and the
Samuels.[4] Prominent people with the surname Mocatta include:
Isaac Mocatta (1765-1801), of whom
Walter Savage Landor wrote, '...In the number of my acquaintance, there is none more valuable, there is not one more lively, more inquiring, more regular; there is not one more virtuous, more beneficent, more liberal, more tender in heart or more true in friendship, than my friend Mocatta – he is also a Jew.'[41]
David Mocatta (1806–1882), a British architect, the first Jewish member of a profession in Great Britain.[42] Architect of Brighton Station.[43]
Frederic David Mocatta (1828–1905), 'Perhaps the most popular man in the Jewish community. He holds several offices but they are no measure of the deep and extensive interest he takes in the welfare of the community as a whole. His generosity and amiability are almost proverbial; and he is personally as well known to the poor of the East End and to many of the Communities of Eastern Europe as he is in the society of Hyde Park, where he resides, or at the health resorts of the Riviera, where he passes the winter. He has travelled much, speaks almost every European language, has a smattering of Oriental tongues, and strong literary, and artistic tastes.'[44] A prominent philanthropist, bibliophile, patron of the arts, and bullion broker. Mocatta retired from his active role at Mocatta & Goldsmid in 1874 and dedicated the second part of his life to public work, particularly working for better housing for the working classes.[45] He is noted for his successful work to implement corporate governance and accountability in charities (Chairman,
Charity Voting Reform Association). President,
Home for Aged Jews, promoter and sponsor of poverty relief and education.[46] Mocatta served as Chairman of the 1882 Mansion House Fund on Behalf of Russian Jewry.[13] On his seventieth birthday, he was presented with a book containing signatures of the
Empress Frederick and of 8,000 other representatives of 250 public bodies to which Mocatta had given his support. Author of The Jews of Spain and Portugal and The Inquisition (1877).[47] Mocatta was the patron of his nephew, the Sinologist and translator,
Arthur Waley.[48] After his death, a fountain was erected in his memory, funded by public subscription, "in grateful memory." The fountain stands prominently outside
Aldgate East Station.[49]
Sir
Alan Abraham Mocatta, OBE QC (1907–1990), an English judge and leader of the
Spanish & Portuguese Jewish Community of London, President of the Restrictive Practices Court, Chairman of the Mocatta Committee on Cheque Endorsement,[34] joint editor of Scrutton on Charter Parties (14th–17th editions)[53]
Laura Mocatta, wife of
Sir Elly Kadoorie, mother of
Lord Kadoorie and Sir Horace Kadoorie. Lived in Hong Kong and Shanghai 1898-1918. The first woman to drive a car in China.[55]
Edgar Mocatta (1879–1957), known as the "Silver King," he dominated the silver market during his partnership in Mocatta & Goldsmid (1900–1957).[13]
Moses Mocatta (1768–1857), bullion broker and scholar of Hebrew language and literature.[56]
Jacob Mocatta (1821–1877), essayist and, 'An eminent merchant... well-known for his benevolence and untiring exertions for the amelioration of the Jewish poor of the metropolis.'[57]
^Report, together with minutes of evidence and accounts, on the high price of gold bullion : Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, 8 June 1810. London: House of Commons. 1810.
^Jones, Helen,
"Mocatta, Annie Mildred (1887–1984)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 4 September 2022