Person Bankes; William John (1786 - 1855) Bankes William John 1786 - 1855 Male 11 December 1786 17861211 Venice, Venezia province, Veneto, Italy, Europe 15 April 1855 18550415 Burial: Wimborne Minster, Dorset England, United Kingdom

Kingston Lacy, Dorset; Flintshire, Wales (1822)

Politician; archaeologist; explorer; collector Archaeology Egyptology Antiquities Education: Westminster School (1795); Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1808, MA 1811) Career: MP for Truro (1810-1812); MP for Cambridge University (1822- 1826); MP for Marlborough (1829-1832); MP for Dorset (1832-1835); lived a bohemian life in Spain and Portugal (1812); travelled widely in the Middle East and Africa, especially Egypt, Nubia and the Nile collecting antiquities, accompanied by artists who documented ancient monuments and inscriptions (1812-1819); published account of his explorations as 'Travels in the East'; engaged Louis Linant de Bellefonds to search for the ancient city of Meroe (accomplished 1821-1822); contributed to deciphering the Rosetta Stone by suggesting that the texts on the stone might all say the same thing in different languages, and correctly supposed that a recurring cartouche represented a royal name; forced to flee England following his second arrest for having gay sex, which was illegal in the UK at the time and would likely have resulted in his execution (1841); living in France and later Italy continued to collect ancient and modern art and artefacts which he sent home to his house Kingston Lacy in Dorset; died in exile in Venice (1855) Friend and travelling companion of Lord Byron. Mother, Frances Woodley (b. 1760 d. 1823) daughter of William Woodley (MP for Great Bedwin and Marlborough), Governor and Captain-General of the Leeward Islands (1766–1771 and 1791–1793); Father, Henry Bankes, MP; maternal Aunt, Maria Banks (Woodley) Riddell, a well-known poet, who was benefactor to the Scottish poet Robert Burns Ejected following arrest for homosexual activity with a guardsman on a bench in Green Park, London. Fellow 28/03/1822 35 1842 Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB; Patricia Usick, 'Adventures in Egypt and Nubia: The Travels of William John Bankes' (1786-1855); Wikipedia References: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/jun/25/rosetta-stone-to-be-added-to-british-museum-lgbtq-tours Bankes of Kingston Lacy archive (ref: D/BKL), including the travel papers and correspondence of William John Bankes, c1800-1818, held at the Dorset History Centre Dorothy U. Seyler. 'The Obelisk and the Englishman: The Pioneering Discoveries of Egyptologist William Bankes' (New York), 2015. Notes: Ejected from the Royal Society 1842 following his arrest (Council Minutes, 10 March 1842). International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 11 Dec 1786 - 15 Apr 1855 NA4968 21/11/2001 Andyg pmab 30/03/2026 RS_NET\keithm Yes http://viaf.org/viaf/67333654 01834708-876c-460d-bcc0-7b34c09c77ed