John Wilks (c. 1793–1846)
was an English lawyer, politician, writer and swindler.
Life
He was the only son of
John Wilks, by his wife Isabella (d. 19 Jan. 1846), and followed his father's profession as an attorney. In 1825 he earned the name of "Bubble Wilks" by floating a number of
joint-stock companies, all of which were financial failures. On 13 June 1826 he was returned to Parliament for the borough of in
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
in the Whig interest. In April 1828 he resigned his seat, and shortly afterwards he was charged before the Lord Mayor with forgery, but was acquitted on the non-appearance of the prosecutor.
On his release, Wilks obtained the post of Paris correspondent to ''The Standard'', signing his contributions to London papers "O. P. Q." Trying to repair his fortunes on the
Paris Bourse, he spread false reports, and was ordered by the head of the police to leave France within four days. Friends, however, had the order revoked. He next formed a joint-stock company to establish a newspaper, ''The London and Paris Courier''. After it had appeared for a few months, Wilks fled, leaving debts to be paid by an English partner. Shortly after he exploited a second company, to finance a monthly magazine called ''La Revue Protestante''.
After forming an unsuccessful Paris Parcels Delivery Company, Wilks returned to London, and, settling in Surrey Street,
Strand, attempted to found an Authors' Institute. His last project was the establishment of a fraudulent clerical registry office.
Before his dishonesty was detected, Wilks died suddenly at Chelsea, on 17 January 1846, leaving no assets.
Works
Wilks was the author of:
* ''A Christian Biographical Dictionary'', London, 1821.
* ''Memoirs of Queen Caroline'', London, 1822, 2 vols.
* ''Bianca: a Fragment'', London, 1823.
After his return to England, Wilks was a contributor to ''
Fraser's Magazine'', supplying reminiscences of
Louis-Philippe and other notable Frenchmen.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilks, John (swindler)
1793 births
1846 deaths
English writers
English fraudsters
English male writers
UK MPs 1826–1830
Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
19th-century English lawyers
19th-century English businesspeople