Norman family

The Norman family was a British family whose prominence was concentrated in banking and public life from approximately 1820 to 1950. It is chiefly remembered through Sir Montagu Norman, who served as Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944 and became the family's most influential public figure. The family’s history also included senior roles in merchant banking, civic administration, broadcasting, manufacturing, scholarship, and the arts. The banking branch is associated with George Warde Norman, born in 1793, who became a director of the Bank of England in 1821 and remained on its board until 1872. His long service placed the family within the institutional network of nineteenth-century British finance. One of his sons, Frederick Norman, was a director of the merchant bank Brown, Shipley & Co. Frederick married Lina Susan Collet, daughter of Sir Mark Wilks Collet, and they had three children: Montagu Norman, Ronald Collet Norman, and a daughter. Montagu Norman was born in 1871 and became the central figure in the family's public identity. After a career in banking, he led the Bank of England for almost a quarter of a century. His governorship covered major changes in the international monetary system, including the economic and financial disruption surrounding the First World War, the interwar period, and the Second World War. His position made him one of the most prominent figures in British central banking during the first half of the twentieth century. Montagu's brother Ronald Collet Norman pursued a different but related path in public administration. He chaired the British Broadcasting Corporation and the London County Council, connecting the family to both national broadcasting and London civic government. Ronald was the father of Mark Norman, an English banker who became managing director of Lazard Brothers and chairman of Gallaher, the tobacco manufacturer. Mark Norman was also appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. His son David Norman, born in 1941, became a management consultant and entrepreneur. Another son of George Warde Norman, Philip Norman, was known as an artist, author, and antiquarian rather than as a banker. His activities broadened the family's profile beyond finance and public administration. Genealogical accounts distinguish this banking Norman family from the Dukes of Rutland, while noting a relationship with the Bonham-Carter family. The Norman family is therefore best understood as a historical family network rather than as a commercial brand, operating company, or product marque. Its significance derives from the positions held by individual members and from the family's connections to British financial, civic, cultural, and institutional life. The available reference material does not establish a current corporate entity, consumer offering, headquarters, website, ownership structure, or continuing commercial operation under the family name.

The Norman family's documented prominence developed in Britain during the nineteenth century, especially through George Warde Norman and his descendants. George Warde Norman was born in 1793 and joined the direction of the Bank of England in 1821. He served as a director for five decades, until 1872, placing him among the family's earliest and most important links with British banking institutions. George's son Frederick Norman, born in 1839, continued the financial association as a director of Brown, Shipley & Co., a London merchant bank. In 1870 he married Lina Susan Collet, a daughter of Sir Mark Wilks Collet. Their children included Sir Montagu Norman, Ronald Collet Norman, and a daughter. The marriage also connected the Normans with another established British family involved in finance and public life. Sir Montagu Norman, born in 1871, became the most prominent member of the family. He was appointed Governor of the Bank of England and held the office from 1920 through 1944. His tenure spanned a highly unsettled period in financial history, including the postwar monetary environment, interwar banking difficulties, and the economic demands of the Second World War. Through this office, he became a major figure in British and international central banking. Montagu's brother Ronald Collet Norman, born in 1873, developed a public career outside central banking. He chaired the BBC and the London County Council, giving the family a role in both broadcasting and local government. His son Mark Norman, born in 1910, returned to merchant banking and became managing director of Lazard Brothers. Mark also chaired Gallaher, a cigarette manufacturer, and received the designation CBE. His son David Norman, born in 1941, later worked as a management consultant and entrepreneur. The family also included Philip Norman, another son of George Warde Norman. Philip was recognized as an artist, author, and antiquarian, demonstrating that the family's activities extended beyond banking and administration into cultural and scholarly work. The family's prominence is generally described as lasting from about 1820 to 1950. This period corresponds to the public and professional careers of George Warde Norman, Montagu Norman, Ronald Collet Norman, Mark Norman, and Philip Norman. The reference material specifically cautions that the banking Normans were not descended from the Dukes of Rutland, although they were related to the Bonham-Carter family. The available sources do not document a modern brand, operating company, commercial product portfolio, or current institutional successor called the Norman family.

• 1950

  End of the family's principal period of prominence

  [1]Norman familyen.wikipedia.org

  Reference accounts place the family's principal period of prominence in British banking and public life between approximately 1820 and 1950.

• 1944

  Montagu Norman's governorship ends

  [1]Norman familyen.wikipedia.org

  Montagu Norman concluded nearly twenty-five years as Governor of the Bank of England.

• 1920

  Montagu Norman becomes Governor of the Bank of England

  [1]Norman familyen.wikipedia.org

  Sir Montagu Norman began his long governorship of the Bank of England, a position he held until 1944.

• 1870

  Frederick Norman marries Lina Susan Collet

  [1]Norman familyen.wikipedia.org

  Frederick Norman married Lina Susan Collet, linking the family with the Collet family and establishing the immediate family line that included Montagu and Ronald Norman.

• 1821

  George Warde Norman becomes a Bank of England director

  [1]Norman familyen.wikipedia.org

  George Warde Norman began a long period as a director of the Bank of England, serving until 1872.

A historical British family associated with banking, central banking, public administration, broadcasting, manufacturing leadership, and the arts; not a documented commercial brand.

1. 1Norman familyen.wikipedia.org