Thomson Hankey (15 June 1805[1] – 13 January 1893)[2] was a British merchant, a banker and aLiberal Party politician.
Hankey was the eldest son of Thomson Hankey senior fromPortland Place in London, and his wife Martha, the daughter of Benjamin Harrison fromClapham Common.[3] He became a merchant in his father's business in theCity of London and a director of theBank of England,[3] serving first as itsDeputy Governor[4] and then as itsGovernor from 1851 to 1853.[5] He married Apolline Agatha Alexander on 4 February 1831; she was the daughter of William Alexander and half-sister ofSir William Alexander.[6]
He received compensation under theSlave Compensation Act 1837 for freed enslaved people for the Grenville Vale estate inGrenada.[6] In June 2020 the Bank of England issued a public apology for the involvement of Hankey, amongst other employees, in theslave trade following the investigation by theCentre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership atUCL.[7]
At the1852 general election, Hankey unsuccessfully contested theborough of Boston in Lincolnshire.[8]He then contested theby-election in June 1853 for theCity of Peterborough, where he lost by a margin of 21 votes (out of a total 451) to the LiberalGeorge Hammond Whalley.[9]Whalley had been returned for Peterborough at aby-election in December 1852, but anelection 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.[10]
Hankey was re-elected in1857,[11]1859[12] and1865,[13] but was defeated at the1868 general election by the LiberalWilliam Wells.[9] He was re-elected in1874,[14]but was defeated in1880.[9] His name was discussed in early 1882 as a possible candidate for any future vacancy in Peterborough,[15] but whenHampden Whalley resigned in June 1883, Hankey did not contest the resulting by-election,[9] and did not stand again thereafter.[16]
He was also ajustice of the peace (JP) forMiddlesex,Kent and theCity of London, and a member of commission of lieutenancy for the City of London.[16]
He died on 13 January 1893, aged 88.[16] In his later years, his advanced age prevented him from taking any active part in public life.[16]
Media related toThomson Hankey at Wikimedia Commons
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPeterborough 1853–1868 With:George Wentworth-FitzWilliam 1853–59 George Hammond Whalley 1859–68 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forPeterborough 1874–1880 With:George Hammond Whalley 1874–78 John Wentworth-FitzWilliam 1878–80 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of the Bank of England 1851–1853 | Succeeded by |
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