John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury
(1834-1913), Banker, scientist, writer and politician; MP for Maidstone and London UniversitySitter in 24 portraits
Born into an established banking family, he served as its head from 1865 until his death. He also had a lifelong enthusiasm for natural history, receiving informal instruction from Charles Darwin, a friend and neighbour. Lubbock became a leading scientific writer, furthering Darwin's theory of natural selection in publications including Pre-Historic Times as Illustrated by Ancient Remains and The Origins & Metamorphosis of Insects and British Wild Flowers. Elected Liberal MP for Maidstone, he became famous for the Bank Holiday Bill of 1871, creating four new national holidays in addition to Christmas Day and Good Friday. Equally significant was his statutory protection of ancient monuments.
Related People
- Alice Augusta Laurentia Lane (née Fox-Pitt-Rivers), Lady Avebury (wife)
- John Lubbock, 3rd Baron Avebury (grandson)
- Ursula Grant Duff (née Lubbock) (daughter)
- Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock (son)
- Irene Pelham (née Lubbock) (daughter)
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.