Julius Wernher

Sir Julius Charles Wernher, 1st Baronet (9 April 1850 – 21 May 1912) was a German-born Randlord, diamond magnate, and art collector who became part of the English establishment.

Wernher by now was managing over 70 South African companies from his London office, and developing a passion for collecting art.

Despite having a reputation for prudence in business, Wernher was swindled out of £64,000 in 1906 by Henri Lemoine, who claimed he could make synthetic diamonds.

He also bequeathed £250,000 to establishing a university in Cape Town, and £100,000 to the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London.

Restoration work carried out by English Heritage, and extensive testing, have shown that the painting at Ranger's House did in fact originate from Botticelli's 15th Century workshop in Florence.

On 12 June 1888, he married socialite Alice Sedgwick Mankiewicz (1862 – 30 November 1945), nicknamed "Birdie", whom he described as "bright-eyed, fair-haired, small, intelligent and musical".