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Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet

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English merchant and MP

Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet

Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet FRS (1627 – 18 October 1699) was an English merchant and MP, who rose from relatively humble beginnings to be one of the wealthiest merchants in London and owner of several properties.

Life

Banks was the son of Caleb Bankes (died 1669) of Maidstone, Kent, gent, and Martha Dann. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

About 1657, Banks married Elizabeth Dethick, daughter of Sir John Dethick. They had several children. His son Caleb was MP for various constituencies, but predeceased him without issue in 1696.

Banks was created a baronet by King Charles II in 1661. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1668.

He invested in the overseas trade with the East and with Africa and in 1677 was financially involved in an expedition to search for a North-east trade route. He was Governor of the East India Company in 1673–74.

Banks was Member of Parliament (MP) several times; for Maidstone 1654–1659, for Winchelsea 1678, for Rochester 1679–1690, for Queenborough 1690–1695 and again for Maidstone 1695–1698.

In 1672, he advocated for the rights of non-conformist congregations to be allowed to meet.

On Banks death in 1699 the baronetcy became extinct. He was survived by two married daughters (Mary, who had married John Savile and Elizabeth, who had married Heneage Finch) who were co-heiresses to his estate.

Notes

  1. "Banks, John (BNKS644J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. "Sir John Banks (Pepys' Diary)". Pepysdiary.com. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  3. "Charles II: May 18-26, 1672 Pages 1-71 Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles II, 1672. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1899". British History Online. Retrieved 20 July 2020.

References

Parliament of England
Vacantunrepresented in the Barebones ParliamentTitle last held byThomas Twisden Member of Parliament for Maidstone
1654–1660
With: Andrew Broughton 1659 		Succeeded byThomas Twisden
Robert Barnham
Preceded byRobert Austen
Francis Finch 		Member of Parliament for Winchelsea
February 1678 – March 1678
With: Robert Austen 		Succeeded byRobert Austen
Cresheld Draper
Preceded byFrancis Clerke
Sir Richard Head,Bt 		Member of Parliament for Rochester
1679–1690
With: Sir Richard Head, Bt (1679)
Francis Barrell (1679)
Francis Clerke (1681–89)
Sir Roger Twisden, Bt (1689–90) 		Succeeded byJoseph Williamson
Francis Clerke
Preceded byJames Herbert
Robert Crawford 		Member of Parliament for Queenborough
1690–1695
With: Robert Crawford 		Succeeded byCaleb Banks
Robert Crawford
Preceded byThomas Rider
Sir Thomas Taylor, Bt 		Member of Parliament for Maidstone
1695–1698
With: Sir Thomas Taylor, Bt to 1696
Thomas Rider 1696–98 		Succeeded bySir Robert Marsham, Bt
Thomas Bliss
Baronetage of England
New creation Baronet
(of London)
1661–1699 		Extinct
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