Thomas Raikes (28 March 1741 – 29 December 1813) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 merchant particularly trading from London with Russia, a banker and newspaper proprietor. Notably, he was Governor of the Bank of England

Governor of the Bank of England

The Governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor...

 during the 1797 currency crisis, when the Bank was prohibited by the British Government from paying out in gold.

Biography

Raikes was born at Gloucester

Gloucester

Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....

 in 1741, third son of Mary Drew and the elder Robert Raikes

Robert Raikes the Elder

Robert Raikes the Elder was a British printer and newspaper proprietor. He is noted as a pioneer of the press who was instrumental in bringing printing out of London and to the provinces.- Biography :...

. His brothers included Robert Raikes

Robert Raikes

Robert Raikes was an English philanthropist and Anglican layman, noted for his promotion of Sunday schools...

, the founder and promoter of Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

s, and William Raikes, a director of the South Sea Company.

On 8 December 1774 at St George's, Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury

-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...

, London, Raikes married Charlotte, daughter of Henry Finch, and grand-daughter of Daniel Earl of Winchilsea

Earl of Winchilsea

Earl of Winchilsea and Earl of Nottingham are two titles in the Peerage of England held by the Finch family that have been united under a single holder since 1729. The Finch family is believed to be descended from Henry FitzHerbert, Lord Chamberlain to King Henry I . The name change came in the...

. With Charlotte he had four sons and five daughters. Their eldest son Thomas

Thomas Raikes (dandy)

Thomas Raikes was a British merchant banker, dandy and diarist.- Biography :Raikes was born in 1777, the eldest son of Thomas Raikes the Elder and his wife, Charlotte...

 became a noted London diarist; another son, Henry

Henry Raikes

Vicar Henry Raikes was Chancellor of the diocese of Chester.He was the son of Thomas Raikes, a London banker and merchant, and Charlotte Finch, daughter of Henry Finch, Earl of Winchelsea....

, became a churchman, eventually Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester

Diocese of Chester

The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York based in Chester, covering the county of Cheshire in its pre-1974 boundaries...

.

Governor of the Bank of England 1797–1799

Thomas Raikes was Governor of the Bank of England

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, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

 from 1797 to 1799, during the crisis of 1797 when war

French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

 had so diminished gold reserves that the Government

First Pitt the Younger Ministry

-The initial ministry:For the first several days of the ministry, Lord Temple held both the secretaryships of state.-Changes:*March, 1784 - The Duke of Rutland becomes Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, remaining also Lord Privy Seal....

 prohibited the Bank from paying out in gold and ordered the use of banknote

Banknote

A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...

s instead.

Thomas Raikes was a personal friend of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...

, and of William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...

, the leader of the campaign against the slave trade.

Raikes died at Stanwell House, Middlesex 29 December 1813.