John Holland (1658–1722) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

banker. He is best known as the founder of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...

in 1695.

Life

Little is known of Holland's early life except that he was born in 1658 in the

Precinct of Bridewell Precinct may refer to: * An electoral precinct * A police precinct * A religious precinct * A shopping precinct or shopping mall ** A Pedestrian zone Places * A neighborhood, in Australia * A unit of public housing in Singapore * A former elec ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

; all marriage and baptismal registers from this time were destroyed in the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

in 1666. John Holland was the son of a mariner, Philip Holland, a friend of

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...

who served as captain of during the Baltic Expedition of 1659. Holland was a merchant of the Staple, and probably a member of the

Mercers' Company The Worshipful Company of Mercers is the premier Livery Company of the City of London and ranks first in the order of precedence of the Companies. It is the first of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies. Although of even older origin, the c ...

, London. He had partially retired when, on the suggestion of a Scottish friend, he projected the Bank of Scotland which was established by act of the Scottish parliament in 1695, in the name of the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland. The new bank opened its first branches in 1696. Holland was elected the first governor, and ultimately possessed seventy-four shares. One of the directors was James Foulis, with whom Holland had been associated in a scheme for introducing the manufacture of Colchester

baize Baize is a coarse woollen (or in cheaper variants cotton) cloth, similar in texture to felt, but more durable. History A mid-17th-century English ditty—much quoted in histories of ale and beer brewing in England—refers to 1525: Hops, her ...

s into Scotland in June 1693. The bank made at first slow progress, with opposition from the African Company, which started a banking business in defiance of the bank's charter, and from the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

. Holland managed the bank successfully through the early difficulties. In recognition of his services, the company presented him with a silver cistern, which in his will he directed to be reserved as a family heirloom. With his son Richard he drew up a scheme for the establishment of a bank in Ireland. He died at Brewood Hall,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, in 1722, and was buried in the church there.

Family

Holland married Jane, only daughter, by his second wife, of Walter Fowke, M.D., of Brewood and Little Wyrley, Staffordshire, by whom he had two sons,

Richard Holland Richard Holland or Richard de Holande (died in or after 1483) was a Scottish cleric and poet, author of the ''Buke of the Howlat''. Life Holland was secretary or chaplain to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray (c. 1450) and rector of Halkirk, nea ...

and Fowke.

Notes

;Attribution Governors of the Bank of Scotland English merchants English bankers 1722 deaths Year of birth unknown 1658 births {{England-business-bio-stub