Thomas Raikes ("the Younger") (3 October 1777 – 3 July 1848) was a British

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

er,

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

and diarist.

Biography

Raikes was born in 1777, the eldest son of

Thomas Raikes Thomas Raikes ("the Elder") (28 March 1741 – 29 December 1813) was a British merchant particularly trading from London with Russia, a banker and newspaper proprietor. Notably, he was Governor of the Bank of England during the 1797 currency ...

the Elder and his wife, Charlotte. He was educated at Eton, where his friends included George (later "Beau") Brummell, whose friendship would extend into Raikes' adult life. In 1795, Raikes was sent to

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

to study modern languages under a private tutor. He travelled widely, visiting many of the German

courts A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

. On his return, he became a partner in his father's banking business, a position which he retained, despite continuing trips to Europe. In 1814, Raikes was at the Hague, where he stayed in the house of the British ambassador, Richard Trench. He visited Paris three times (1814, 1819, and 1820), and spent the winter of 1829–30 in Russia. In 1833, he left London for France, where he remained for eight years. In 1841 the Tory Party took government in the UK, and Raikes, in the hope of securing a post under the patronage of the new Prime Minister, Robert Peel, returned to London. He was unsuccessful in securing a position and divided his time over the next years between London and Paris. In May 1846, in poor health, he went to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

to take the waters. Thereafter, he bought a house in Brighton, where he died on 3 July 1848.

Dandy and diarist

Raikes was best known in London as a

. He spent much of his time there in the fashionable clubs of the West End: he was a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

, Watier's and

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

, where his name appeared regularly in the betting book. In the City, he was nicknamed 'Apollo', because "he rose in the east and set in the west". He was

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

ningly caricatured by Richard Dighton as "''One of the Rake's of London''". Raikes' journal is notable for containing the memoirs of a man who counted among his friends some of the most influential men of his day, including Beau Brummell, the Duke of Wellington, Baron Alvanley, and Talleyrand. A four-volume 'portion' of the journal was published after his death, in 1856-7, and two volumes of ''Private Correspondence with the

Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington Lieutenant-General Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington, (3 February 1807 – 13 August 1884), styled Lord Douro between 1812 and 1814 and Marquess of Douro between 1814 and 1852, was a British soldier and politician. The eldest so ...

and other Distinguished Contemporaries'' were published, edited by his daughter, in 1861.

Family

Raikes married Sophia Maria Bayly on 4 May 1802. Bayly was the daughter of Jamaican proprietor Nathaniel Bayly. She died on 8 March 1822. With Sophia Maria, Raikes had one son and three daughters. His daughter Harriet became a novelist and editor of her father's correspondence with

. The son, Henry Thomas Raikes, became a judge in Bengal.

External links

One of the Rake's of London
- etching of Raikes by Richard Dighton; National Portrait Gallery, UK

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raikes, Thomas 1777 births 1848 deaths 18th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English diarists Writers from London People educated at Eton College English bankers Raikes family English expatriates in France Conservative Party (UK) people