Name William Banks | ||
William Banks (19 April 1719 – September 1761) was an English MP and the father of Sir Joseph Banks, the naturalist.
He was the younger son of Joseph Banks (MP) of Revesby Abbey, Lincolnshire. After being educated at Westminster School he entered the Middle Temple in 1736 to study law.
In 1741 he was elected MP for Grampound, sitting until 1747. He was unable to seek re-election after the loss of the use of his legs due to illness.
He married Sarah, the daughter of William Bate of Derbyshire, with whom he had a son, Sir Joseph Banks the famous naturalist, and a daughter. He succeeded his wife's grandfather in 1733, temporarily adopting the name of Hodgkinson, but reverted to Banks on succeeding his father in 1741 (his elder brother Joseph having died the year before).