Sir Theodore Janssen of Wimbledon, 1st Baronet (1650s, Angoulême, Angoumois, France – 22 September 1748, Wimbledon, London) was a French-born English financier and member of parliament who, after a long and successful career in commerce, was ruined and disgraced by his part in the South Sea Bubble.
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Life
Janssen was born in Angoulême, France, son of the paper maker Abraham Janssen and Henriette Manigault. His grandfather, Theodore Janssen de Heez, had taken refuge in France from the Duke of Alba's persecution in the Netherlands. Janssen moved to England in 1680, making his home at Wimbledon, where he bought Wimbledon manor.
He was naturalised as an English subject in 1685, and later knighted by King William III on 26 February 1698. In 1694 he was a founder-member of the Bank of England, investing £10,000 and becoming a director. In 1697 he published a pamphlet A Discourse concerning Banks, and in 1713 his treatise General Maxims of Trade.
At the particular request of the Prince of Wales, he was created a baronet on 11 March 1715, shortly after the accession of George I. He entered Parliament in 1717 at a by-election, as member for Yarmouth (Isle of Wight).