Henry Bankes

Henry Bankes (1757–1834) was an English politician and author.

Bankes was the only surviving son of Henry Bankes, Esq., and the great-grandson of Sir John Bankes, chief justice of the common pleas in the time of Charles I. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1778, and M.A. in 1781.

After leaving Cambridge he sat for the close borough of Corfe Castle from 1780 to 1826; in the latter year he was elected for the county of Dorset, and re-elected in the general election in the same year, but was rejected after a severe contest in 1830. In politics he was a conservative; he gave a general support to Prime Minister Pitt, but preserved his independence. He took an active but not a leading part in nearly every debate of his time, and closely attended to all parliamentary duties.

He was a trustee of the British Museum, and acted as its organ in parliament. He married in 1784 Frances, daughter of William Woodley, Governor of the Leeward Islands, and left a large family. His second son was William John Bankes, and his third George Bankes. His daughter married Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of Falmouth. Bankes died at Tregothnan, Cornwall, 17 December 1834, and was buried at Wimborne Minster.

• A Civil and Constitutional History of Rome, from the Foundation to the Age of Augustus, 2 vols. 1818.