Henry Hucks Gibbs, 1st Baron Aldenham, (31 August 1819 – 13 September 1907), was a British banker, businessman and Conservative Party politician.
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Life
Aldenham was the son of George Henry Gibbs,
whose father Antony Gibbs was a brother of Sir Vicary Gibbs, a Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1837, graduating B.A. in 1841, M.A. in 1844.
Gibbs was a senior partner in the family firm of Antony Gibbs & Sons, and was a director of the Bank of England from 1853 to 1901, its deputy governor, and finally its Governor from 1875 to 1877.
He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of London at an unopposed by-election in April 1891,
and held the seat until the general election in July 1892, when his oldest son Alban was elected in his place.
He also held the office of High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1884.
In 1896 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Aldenham, of Aldenham in the County of Hertford. A member of the Philological Society, he was a major benefactor to the Oxford English Dictionary.
Family
Lord Aldenham married Louisa Anne Adams, daughter of William Adams and Mary Anne Cokayne, in 1845. Their fourth son, Herbert, was created Baron Hunsdon of Hunsdon in 1923, while their fifth son, Kenneth, was Archdeacon of St Albans. Lady Aldenham died in 1897. Lord Aldenham survived her by ten years and died in September 1907, aged 88. He was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son Alban.
Children of Lord and Lady Aldenham:
Alban George Henry Gibbs (1846–1936), heir apparent and successor to the barony
Edith Caroline Gibbs (1848–1942)
Walter Antony Gibbs (1850–1858)
Vicary Gibbs (1853–1932), MP for St Albans 1892–1904
Herbert Cokayne Gibbs (1854–1935), created Baron Hunsdon of Hunsdon in 1923
Kenneth Francis Gibbs (1856–1935), Archdeacon of St Albans 1909–1933
Henry Lloyd Gibbs (1861–1907)