ABSTRACT
Ludwig Mond was born at Cassel in Germany in 1839. He believed that fruitful scientific discovery could be promoted only by training in pure science. In 1862 he decided to give up his job in a Dutch chemical works which manufactured soda by the Leblanc process, and to try his luck in prosperous and tolerant England. His first-born, Robert, soon developed the scientific interests of his father, but the second son, Alfred, born at Widnes in 1868, showed little sign of intellectual brilliance. In 1886 Alfred went up to Cambridge, where he 'kept his best energies for the poker table' and philosophical discussion, with the result that in 1889 he was ploughed in the Natural Science Tripos. After the fall of the Coalition in 1922 and the uneasy reconciliation between Lloyd George and Asquith in 1923, Alfred Mond was for a time next in importance to these two great figures in Liberal political circles.
