John Staniforth (1771–1830) was a British politician and director of 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 ...

Early life

John Staniforth was the son of Charles Staniforth, a merchant of both the Broad Street Buildings, London and

Kingston-Upon-Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east o ...

, and his wife Ann Green. His uncles John Staniforth (1725-1798), Philip Green and Joseph Green were notable Hull shipowners, and his uncle Joseph Green was based in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

. On his father's death in 1797, John went into partnership with John Blunt, and carried on his father's London business.

Parliamentary career

His uncle Philip Green brought him to Hull and persuaded him to stand for election to Parliament. Philip Green used his own popularity, gained through his shipping interests which brought money into the town, to ensure that John was elected in 1802 to represent Hull, a seat he would hold until 1818. Philip Green died in 1803 and Staniforth increased his interest in Hull by setting up his own shipping business. He participated in attracting the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

to the Hull ports and in 1804 he procured naval contracts with the Hull naval yard. He was a director of the

from 1807 to 1819. John Staniforth was recorded on a list of 'staunch friends' of the abolition of the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, but did not support

Richard Bland Richard Bland (May 6, 1710 – October 26, 1776), sometimes referred to as Richard Bland II or Richard Bland of Jordan's Point, was an American Founding Father, planter and statesman from Virginia. A cousin and early mentor of Thomas Jefferso ...

's motion on 9 April 1807. In 1810 he was listed as 'Government' on the Whigs list. In 1818, Staniforth was criticised for participation in the profits of the East India Company monopoly amongst other things. Now facing financial difficulty, he announced his retirement from Parliament before the parliamentary election of that year. He was however nominated by a committee of friends but in the event was narrowly defeated at the polls. Staniforth died in 1830. He had married in 1793 Maria Pitts of

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

Quay, Yorkshire and had a total of five children, of which four survived.

References

1771 births 1830 deaths English merchants Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Governors of the Bank of England Politicians from London Kingston upon Hull {{UK-politician-stub