Edgar Speyer was born in 1862 in New York, the son of a banker. He was educated at the Realgymnasium, Frankfurt, and at the age of twenty-two became a partner in his father's three companies in Frankfurt, London and New York. From 1887, he worked as director of Speyer Brothers in London, and under him the firm was instrumental in financing the Metropolitan District Railway Company. Between 1906 and 1915, he served as chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London.
In 1902, he married Leonora, daughter of Ferdinand, Count von Stosch of Mantze, Silesia, a violinist and widow. A philanthropist and patron of the arts, he was naturalized in 1892, created a baronet in 1906 and made a member of the Privy Council in 1909. During the First World War, Speyer resigned all his offices following allegations of spying for Germany and he returned to New York. In 1921, his British naturalization, and those of Leonora and their three daughters, were revoked. He continued to live in New York and was serving as a director of the banking house of Speyer-Ellissen in Berlin, when he died in 1932.
From the guide to the Edgar and Leonora Speyer collection, 1906-1913, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
