Joseph Jonas

Joseph Jonas (1845 – 22 August 1921) was the German-born Lord Mayor of Sheffield, England in 1904–05.
Jonas was born in Bingen am Rhein, in the Grand Duchy of Hesse in 1845, and became a naturalized British citizen in 1876. The same year he married Lucy Ann Earle; they had five sons and one daughter. He had fled his home country in 1867 to avoid military service. He went to Sheffield in about 1870 to start a steel business. About two years later, Robert Colver of Western Bank joined him and the business became Jonas, Meyer and Colver. He prospered and with partners ran the Continental Steel Works, which by 1890 was one of the most successful in the area, particularly with its production of high speed steel.
He became a town councillor in 1890 and Lord Mayor in 1904. In 1905 he received a knighthood. He was a Justice of the Peace and a benefactor of the University of Sheffield, particular…