Edward Banks (1796 - 1851) was one of the leading figures of the Free City of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in the mid 19th century, holding the office of

Syndicus ''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or po ...

from 1837 until his death in 1851. His family was of English origin, having emigrated around 1660.

Early life

After service in the Hanseatic militia at the end of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, he studied law and political science at the universities of

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

and received a doctorate in September 1819. He became an advocate in Hamburg and joined the Hamburg civil service as a legal official in Ritzebüttel, an exclave of the state of Hamburg at the mouth of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

. In 1826 he became

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Secretary.

Syndicus

In 1837, in recognition of his eminent talent and business experience, he was elected to the post of Syndicus. The four syndics sat in the Senate with the senators and took part in the debates, but had no vote. They had the title "Magnificence" and ranked between the mayors and the senators. The office, at that time, was somewhat analogous to that of a cabinet minister (which did not exist as such in Hamburg). To them were entrusted all important negotiations, and the preparation of every legislative enactment. In this office, he first dealt with trade policy, the postal service and railways. After the great fire of 1842, he brought about the construction of new buildings and the establishment of exemplary drainage and water supply facilities. Following the death of

Karl Sieveking Karl Sieveking, born 1 November 1787 in Hamburg, died 30 June 30 1847, was a Syndicus of Hamburg, diplomat, politician, patron of the arts and philanthropist. The four syndics sat in the Senate with the senators and took part in the debates, but ...

in 1847, Carl Merck was elected to Sieveking's Syndicus post, joining the other Syndics - Banks, Wilhelm Amsinck and Johann Kauffmann.Hamburgischer Staats Kalender 1846, publ. by Friedrich Hermann Nestler and Melle, Hamburg, 1846 Sieveking had been in charge of the Foreign Affairs of the State of Hamburg since 1820 when he became a Syndicus. After Sieveking's death, Banks was entrusted with the direction of foreign affairs. From 1848, Banks took up a number of diplomatic posts and was Hamburg's representative at the Diet of the

German Confederation The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

National Assembly in Frankfurt

As a result of the

German revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

starting in March 1848, Banks was sent by the Diet to London as a special envoy of the Federal Diet and soon afterwards became “Reichsgesandter” (German ambassador) in London for the fledgling central administration in Frankfurt. In the same capacity he went to Copenhagen in late autumn, after which he continued as the state of Hamburg’s representative at Frankfurt.

Death

As a result of the exhausting activity of these turbulent years, Banks had to seek a milder climate in the autumn of 1851 to restore his health, but died on 17 December at

Veytaux Veytaux () is a municipality in the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut district in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The Château de Chillon across the Avenue de Chillon on Lake Geneva provides a view of the entire lake looking westward. History Veytaux ...

near

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

on the eastern shore of

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Edward Syndics of Hamburg

1796 births 1851 deaths