Morawitz, Karl Ritter von
MORAWITZ, KARL RITTER VON
MORAWITZ, KARL RITTER VON (1846–1914), Austrian banker. Born in Iglau (now Jihlava), Moravia, he was educated in Prague and began working as a bank clerk in small banking houses in Prague and Dresden. In 1860 he joined the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas in Paris, an establishment of Ludwig *Bamberger with whom Morawitz became closely associated. Subsequently he entered the Paris office of the Ottoman Bank, but, as a foreigner, had to leave that post in 1870 after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. He then worked for Baron Maurice de *Hirsch and his railway enterprises. In 1906 he became president of the Anglo-Austrian Bank, a post he held until his death. Morawitz was an expert in international finance, and his experience and connections made him an influential adviser. Shortly before his death he was knighted by Emperor Franz Joseph. Morawitz frequently wrote and lectured, and his book, Les Finances de la Turquie (1902), is a standard work on the financial history of the Ottoman Empire. Other publications include: Aus der Werkstatt eines Bankmannes, Aus Arbeitstagen und Mussestunden (1907), and a history of the Anglo-Austrian Bank, 50 Jahre Geschichte einer Wiener Bank (1913).
[Joachim O. Ronall]