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History & Society
William Paterson
British economist
Category:
History & Society
- Born:
- April 1658, Tinwald, Dumfries, Scotland
- Died:
- January 22, 1719 (aged 60)
- Founder:
- Bank of England
William Paterson (born April 1658, Tinwald, Dumfries, Scotland—died January 22, 1719) was a Scottish founder of the Bank of England, writer on economic issues, and the prime mover behind an unsuccessful Scottish settlement at Darién on the Isthmus of Panama. By 1686 Paterson was a London merchant and a member of the Merchant Taylors’ Company. Prior to this time, he had pursued his livelihood in such places as Bristol, England, as well as the Bahamas and Europe. In 1692, when Parliament sought ways to pay off England’s war debt, Paterson was among the first to submit a proposal that, although ...(100 of 349 words)