Harold Samuel, Baron Samuel of Wych Cross

Born in Finchley in north London and educated at Mill Hill School and the College of Estate Management at Lincoln's Inn Fields, Harold Samuel initially trained to be a surveyor.

[1] After World War II he focused on securing bomb sites in Plymouth, Exeter, Hull, Coventry and Bristol and redeveloping them.

[1] He built the business into one of the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

His collection of Dutch paintings, formed for him with the help of the dealer Edward Speelman,[7] was donated to the Mansion House Art Collection by his wife after his death[8] and subsequently displayed at the Barbican and toured the United States while the Mansion House was being renovated.

A catalogue of the collection was prepared by Peter C. Sutton and published by Cambridge University Press to accompany the exhibition.