Paterson William

Paterson, William (1658-1719), projector of the Bank of England, was the son of a farmer at Tinwald, Dumfriesshire. He lived for some years in the Bahamas, and returned to Europe to carry out the Darien scheme. Returning to London about 1685, he soon made a fortune in trade, was instrumental in forming the Hampstead Water Company in or about 1690, and in 1694 founded the Bank of England. Personal jealousy and his plan for forming an Orphan's Bank soon compelled his retirement from the directorate, and he then went to Edinburgh, where he elaborated his scheme for the settlement of the isthmus of Darien (q.v.).