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Thomson Hankey (15 June 1805^[1] – 13 January 1893)^[2] was a British merchant, a banker and a Liberal Party politician.

Hankey was the son of Thomson Hankey from Portland Place in London, and his wife Martha, the daughter of Benjamin Harrison from Clapham Common.^[3] He became a merchant in the City of London and a director the Bank of England,^[3] serving first as its Deputy Governor^[4] and then as its Governor from 1851 to 1853.^[5] In June 2020 the Bank of England issued a public apology for the involvement of Hankey, amongst other employees, in the slave trade following the investigation by the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership at UCL.^[6]

At the 1852 general election, Hankey unsuccessfully contested the borough of Boston in Lincolnshire.^[7] He then contested the by-election in June 1853 for the City of Peterborough, where he lost by a margin of 21 votes (out of a total 451) to the Liberal George Hammond Whalley.^[8] Whalley had been returned for Peterborough at a by-election in December 1852, but an election petition was lodged and his election was subsequently declared void on 8 June 1853^[2] on the grounds that Whalley had been complicit in the "treating" of voters. After his second by-election win, a further petition was lodged, and a committee of the House of Commons found that Whalley's election was invalid, because he had been disqualified as a result of the previous void election. The seat was therefore awarded to Hankey, who was declared duly elected on 14 August 1853.^[9]

Hankey was re-elected in 1857,^[10] 1859^[11] and 1865,^[12] but was defeated at the 1868 general election by the Liberal William Wells.^[8] He was re-elected in 1874,^[13] and later was defeated in 1880.^[8] His name was discussed in early 1882 as a possible candidate for any future vacancy in Peterborough,^[14] but when Hampden Whalley resigned in June 1883, Hankey did not contest the resulting by-election,^[8] and did not stand again thereafter.^[15]

He was also a Justice of the Peace (JP) for Middlesex, Kent and the City of London, and a member of Commission of lieutenancy for the City of London.^[15]

He died on 13 January 1893, aged 88.^[15] In his later years, his advanced age prevented him from taking any active part in public life.^[15]

References

^ London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812
^ ^a ^b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P" (part 1)
^ ^a ^b "New Members". The Times. London. 26 February 1874. p. 6.
^ "Deputy Governors of the Bank of England" (PDF). Bank of England. Retrieved 3 January 2014.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Governors of the Bank of England" (PDF). Bank of England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ "Bank of England apologises for role of former directors in slave trade". The Guardian. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
^ Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 55. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Craig, pages 237–238
^ "Election Committee. Peterborough". The Times. London. 15 August 1853. p. 10, col B. Retrieved 18 December 2010. (subscription required)
^ "No. 21983". The London Gazette. 31 March 1857. p. 1179.
^ "No. 22258". The London Gazette. 3 May 1859. p. 1813.
^ "No. 22991". The London Gazette. 14 July 1865. p. 3531.
^ "No. 24063". The London Gazette. 6 February 1874. p. 539.
^ "Election Intelligence". The Times. London. 27 February 1882. pp. 7, col G. Retrieved 19 December 2010. (subscription required)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Obituary. Mr. Thomson Hankey". The Times. London. 16 January 1893. p. 10, col F. Retrieved 19 December 2010. (subscription required)

External links

Thomson Hankey at Find a Grave
Media related to Thomson Hankey at Wikimedia Commons
Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Thomson Hankey
Portraits of Thomson Hankey at the National Portrait Gallery, London

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Hammond Whalley George Wentworth-FitzWilliam	Member of Parliament for Peterborough 1853–1868 With: George Wentworth-FitzWilliam 1853–59 George Hammond Whalley 1859–68	Succeeded by William Wells George Hammond Whalley
Preceded by William Wells George Hammond Whalley	Member of Parliament for Peterborough 1874–1880 With: George Hammond Whalley 1874–78 John Wentworth-FitzWilliam 1878–80	Succeeded by Hampden Whalley John Wentworth-FitzWilliam
Government offices
Preceded by Henry James Prescot	Governor of the Bank of England 1851–1853	Succeeded by John Hubbard