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 Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

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 shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

, 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 (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. 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 that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

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 Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

, 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, lawyer and politician from Virginia. A cousin and early mentor of Thomas ...

'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 (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...

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

References

1771 births 1830 deaths 19th-century British 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