Sir Theodore Janssen of Wimbledon, 1st Baronet (1650s,

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

– 22 September 1748,

Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes ...

) was a French-born English financier and

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

who, after a long and successful career in commerce, was ruined and disgraced by his part in the

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

Life

Janssen was born in

, son of the paper maker Abraham Janssen and Henriette Manigault. His grandfather, Theodore Janssen de Heez, had taken refuge in France from the

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by G ...

's persecution in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Janssen moved to England in 1680, making his home at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, where he bought Wimbledon manor. He was naturalised as an English subject in 1685, and later knighted by

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

on 26 February 1698. In 1694 he was a founder-member 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 ...

, investing £10,000 and becoming a director. In 1697 he published a pamphlet ''A Discourse concerning Banks'', and in 1713 his treatise ''General Maxims of Trade''. At the particular request of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, he was created a baronet on 11 March 1715, shortly after the accession of

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. He entered Parliament in 1717 at a by-election, as member for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight). By 1720, Janssen had accumulated a fortune of almost quarter of a million pounds. However, among his business interests had been the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

, of which he was a director. On the collapse of the company he, together with the other directors, was arrested and summoned before the House of Commons to account for himself. After he and

Jacob Sawbridge Jacob Sawbridge (c. 1665 - 11 July 1748) was a banker and the member of Parliament for Cricklade in England from 1715 to 23 January 1721. He became a partner in the firm of Turner, Sawbridge, and Caswall, who traded as the Hollow Sword Blade Com ...

, the first two directors to be summoned, had been heard, a motion was proposed and passed unanimously that both "were guilty of a notorious Breach of Trust, as Directors of the SouthSea Company, and thereby occasion'd very great Loss to great Numbers of his Majesty's Subjects, and had highly prejudic'd the publick Credit". They were statutorily disqualified from sitting in Parliament or holding public office and their assets confiscated to make reparations to the investors ruined in the crash. Janssen was allowed to keep £50,000, a much-higher proportion than most of the other directors.

Family

He married Williamza or Williamsa Henley (died 2 September 1731) on 26 January 1698 at

Christ Church Greyfriars Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate Street, was a church in Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Established as a monastic church in the thirteenth century, it became a parish church afte ...

, London, and had issue, including

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, and

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

. He died in 1748. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Abraham, who had also been a member of parliament at the time of his father's disgrace, but never sat again after the end of that Parliament. Each of the three brothers inherited the baronetcy in turn, as none had any sons; the elder two died unmarried, in 1765 and 1766 respectively. His daughter Barbara married Governor

Thomas Bladen Thomas Bladen (23 February 1698 – 2 February 1780) was a colonial governor in North America and politician who sat in the British House of Commons between 1727 and 1741. He served as the 19th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1742 to 1747 ...

. His daughter Mary married

Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore, (29 September 1699 – 24 April 1751) was a British nobleman and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. He inherited the title to Maryland aged just fifteen, on the death of his father and gran ...

. Williamsa Janssen, a granddaughter, married politician

Lionel Damer Hon. Lionel Damer (16 September 1748 – 28 May 1807) was a British Whig politician. Family Lionel Damer was the third son of Joseph Damer, 1st Earl of Dorchester by Lady Caroline Sackville (daughter of Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of ...

in 177.

Final Years and Death

Sir Theodore continued to live quietly in Wimbledon after he was stripped of the manor in 1721, next to the present day Wimbledon Village High St. He died in 1748 and is buried in the churchyard of St Marys Church, Wimbledon.

Portrayal in fiction

Janssen is a central character in Robert Goddard's historical novel ''Sea Change''.

References

Robert Beatson Robert Beatson, LL.D. FRSE FSA (1741–1818) was a Scottish compiler and miscellaneous writer. Life He was born on 25 June 1741 at Dysart in Fife, Scotland, the son of David Beatson of Vicarsgrange. He was educated for the military profession, ...

, ''A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament'' (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807

House of Commons Journal, 1721
* ''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' * George Cokayne, Cokayne, George Edward (1906)
Complete Baronetage
'. Volume V. Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. . pp. 26–27 {{DEFAULTSORT:Janssen, Theodore 1658 births 1748 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1715–1722 English people of Dutch descent French emigrants to the Kingdom of England Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from Angoulême French people of Dutch descent Knights Bachelor Expelled members of the Parliament of Great Britain