Samuel Holden (1675–1740) was an English merchant, politician, andnonconformist activist.
The son of Joseph Holden by his second wife Priscilla Watt, he was employed when still young by theRussia Company atRiga. He became a successful merchant in London, a director of theBank of England (1720–27 and 1731–40), itsDeputy Governor (1727–29)[1] and itsGovernor (1729–31).[2]
A Dissenter, Holden chaired from 1732 a committee for the repeal of theCorporation Act and otherTest Acts. He entered Parliament as Member forEast Looe in 1735. Undertakings bySir Robert Walpole not to obstruct actively moves for repeal turned out to be largely irrelevant when Holden tried to introduce legislation in the area. He resigned from the committee in 1736, forced out in favour ofBenjamin Avery.[2][3]
He married Jane Whitehalgh of the Whitehaugh, Instones, Staffordshire, with whom he had a son and 3 daughters. In 1744 his daughter and co-heir Mary marriedJohn Jolliffe, the MP forPetersfield.[4]
Holden left £60,000 on his death in 1740.Holden Chapel atHarvard College was constructed with some of this money.[2]
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Looe 1735–1740 With:Charles Longueville | Succeeded by |
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