James Esdaile (mayor)

Sir James Esdaile ( – ) was an English banker who served as the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1777. His grandfather was a French nobleman and

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

from the De l'Estoile family who fled from the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

in an attempt to avoid persecution by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. Esdaile also served as

sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

in 1767. His daughter, Louisa married the politician

Benjamin Hammet Sir Benjamin Hammet (''c.'' 173622 July 1800) was an English businessman, banker and politician, who served as Member of Parliament from Taunton (1782–1800), and as High Sheriff of London. Contemporary accounts state that he was a footman, s ...

, who subsequently became a protege of Esdaile's. In 1781, he took Hammet into his banking firm, which became known as 'Esdaile and Hammet'. Esdaile died in 1793. 1714 births 1793 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London 18th-century lord mayors of London {{Lord-Mayor-of-London-stub