Richard J. Baer

Richard Josef Baer was a Swiss physicist and banker who was a partner of Julius Baer Group between 1922 and 1940. Baer was the oldest son of Julius Baer and father to Hans J. Baer.

Early life and education

Baer was born 11 September 1892 in Basel, Switzerland, the oldest of three sons, to Julius Baer, a German-Jewish banker originally from Heidelsheim, and Marie Baer. His younger brothers were; Walter Jakob and Werner Baer.
He was initially raised in Basel before his family relocated to Zurich in 1897. He completed his Matura in 1912 and then studied mathematics at the University of Würzburg. He returned to Switzerland as World War I broke out and completed his studies at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. Shortly thereafter he completed his PhD in Würzburg under Emil Hilb.

Personal life

In August 1922, Baer married Ellen Lohnstein, a daughter of Ludwig Lohnstein and Maria Lohnstein. His in-laws relocated to Geneva after World War II. They had four children;

Marianne Baer, married Jorgen Likke Olson
Hans Julius Baer, long-term president and chairman of Julius Baer Group, married Ilse Kaelin ; two children
Ruth Irene Baer, married to David Rudolf Speiser; four children
Thomas August Baer, an attorney in Erlenbach, married firstly to Heidi Wolff-Limper, secondly to Monika Bettschart ; no children

Baer died 13 December 1940 aged 48, shortly before the family planned to emigrate to the United States. His family went to Princeton, New Jersey after his death arriving in May 1941. In 1950, his wife would remarry to fellow scientist Hermann Weyl.

Literatur

Ernst Bieri, Peter Holenstein, Karl Völk: 1890–1990 – Eine Bank und ihre Familie – Eine Familie und ihre Bank, 352 Seiten, herausgegeben von der Bank Julius Bär, Zürich 1990, S. 84–89