{{Short description|English businessman and banker (1801–1885)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Alfred Latham | image = Alfred Latham.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1801 | birth_place = | death_date = 1885 | death_place = | education = | occupation = Banker | known for = }}
'''Alfred Latham''' (1801–1885) was an English businessman and banker, born in Camberwell to Thomas Latham (1746–1818), a merchant and plantation owner, and his wife, Ann Jones. Inheriting wealth, Latham went into business in 1824, and went into partnership in what became the Arbuthnot Latham bank in 1833, with John Alves Arbuthnot (1802–1875).<ref>{{cite ODNB|id=41292|first=David|last=Lascelles|title=Latham, Alfred}}</ref>
In 1833, Latham received £3,873 (c.£370,000 in 2020 money) as compensation for giving up the ownership of 402 slaves.<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Jolly |first1=Jasper |title=Bank praised by Boris Johnson had slavery links, data shows |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/18/bank-boris-johnson-slave-trade-arbuthnot-latham |access-date=18 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=18 June 2020}}</ref>
Latham was Governor of the Bank of England from 1861 to 1863. He had been Deputy Governor from 1859 to 1861. He replaced Bonamy Dobrée as Governor and was succeeded by Kirkman Daniel Hodgson.<ref>[http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/pdfs/governors.pdf ''Governors of the Bank of England''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212181344/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/pdfs/governors.pdf |date=2012-02-12 }} Bank of England, London, 2013. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211609/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/about/Documents/pdfs/governors.pdf Archived here.] Retrieved 24 March 2016.</ref>
The Polish economist Louis Wolowski published an extract of letter sent he sent to Latham in his book ''L'or et l'argent'' (1870).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolowski|first=M|url=https://archive.org/details/loretlargent01wologoog/page/n40/mode/2up|title=L'or et l'argent|publisher=Guillamumin|year=1870|location=Paris|pages=XXVII-XL}}</ref>
In June 2020, the Bank of England issued a public apology for the involvement of Latham, amongst other employees, in the slave trade following the investigation by the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership at UCL.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jasper Jolly|date=2020-06-18|title=Bank of England apologises for role of former directors in slave trade|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/18/bank-of-england-apologises-for-role-of-former-directors-in-slave-trade|access-date=2020-06-19}}</ref> According to The Art Newspaper the Bank of England will remove Lathams portrait from public view, as well as 10 more portraits of former governors, such as Benjamin Buck Greene, that are linked to slavery.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bank of England wades into UK's escalating culture war on controversial monuments, saying it will remove images of slave owners|url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/bank-of-england-monuments|access-date=2021-02-27|website=www.theartnewspaper.com|date=23 February 2021 }}</ref>
==See also== *Chief Cashier of the Bank of England
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Governors of the Bank of England}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Alfred}} Category:Governors of the Bank of England Category:1801 births Category:1885 deaths Category:English bankers Category:Deputy governors of the Bank of England Category:English slave owners Category:19th-century English businesspeople
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