William John Bankes FRS | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by George Sandars, 1812 | |
| Member of Parliament for Truro | |
| In office 1810–1812 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Powlett, 2nd Baron Bayning |
| Succeeded by | Sir George Warrender, 4th Baronet |
| Member of Parliament for Cambridge University | |
| In office 1822–1826 | |
| Preceded by | John Henry Smyth |
| Succeeded by | John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst |
| Member of Parliament for Marlborough | |
| In office 1829–1832 | |
| Preceded by | James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan |
| Succeeded by | Henry Bingham Baring |
| Member of Parliament for Dorset | |
| In office 1832–1835 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Portman, 1st Viscount Portman |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 December 1786 |
| Died | 15 April 1855 (aged 68) Venice, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Tory |
| Relations | Henry Bankes (father), Frances Woodley (mother) |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Explorer, egyptologist and adventurer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Rank | aide-de-camp |
William John Bankes (11 December 1786 – 15 April 1855) was an English politician, explorer, Egyptologist and adventurer.[1]
The second, but first surviving, son of Henry Bankes MP, he was a member of the Bankes family of Dorset and he had Sir Charles Barry recase Kingston Lacy in stone as it is today. He travelled extensively to the Near East and Egypt and made an extensive individual collection of Egyptian artefacts.[2] His work on Egypt, though not acknowledged until the 21st century, is regarded as important. He was a good friend of Lord Byron, Samuel Rogers and Sir Charles Barry. He sat as Tory Member of Parliament (MP) for Truro in 1810, for Cambridge University from 1822 to 1826, for Marlborough (the UK parliamentary constituency that his maternal grandfather, William Woodley, for whom he was named, had held from 1780 to 1784) from 1829 to 1832, and finally for Dorset from 1832 to 1835.
- ^ Sebba, Anne (2009). The Exiled Collector. Dovecote Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-904349-67-9.
- ^ Warren R. Dawson and Eric P. Uphill, Who Was Who in Egyptology, 1972, s.v. "Bankes, William John".