Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 03.djvu/133

 BANKS, GEORGE LINNÆUS (1821–1881), miscellaneous writer, born at Birmingham 2 March 1821, was the son of John Banks, a seedsman. The father was a rigid methodist; he once took a ‘Robinson Crusoe’ from his son, and thrust it into the fire. When a boy George was totally blind for seven months, and was eventually cured by a quack, who applied leeches to the soles of his feet. He was sent to an engraver, but his eyes proved too weak for this work, and he afterwards went to a modeller, and, when neglected by his father, bound himself apprentice to a cabinet-case maker. His master failed, and he became, at the age of seventeen or eighteen, a contributor to newspapers and magazines, an amateur actor, and orator. He had a remarkable faculty for silhouette portraiture, and was also a rapid improvisatore. For years he was intimately associated with many of the movements for the political enfranchisement and social advancement of the masses of the people. One of his lyrics, called ‘What I live for,’ was frequently quoted by platform and pulpit orators, and is widely known. It is believed that it first appeared in a Liverpool newspaper. During his residence in Liverpool he wrote a play called ‘The Swiss Father,’ in which Creswick took the leading part. He also wrote for the negro actor, Ira Aldridge, a drama entitled ‘The Slave King,’ and in later years two smart burlesques for the Durham and Windsor theatres. These were ‘Old Maids and Mustard,’ and ‘Ye Doleful Wives of Windsor.’ He wrote the long popular negro melody ‘Dandy Jim of Caroline.’ ‘The Minstrel King,’ set by Macfarren, and ‘Warwickshire Will,’ are still sung at Shakespearean gatherings.

In 1846 he married Isabella Varley, of Manchester, the authoress of ‘Ivy Leaves’ and of several novels. Between 1848 and 1864 Banks was editor of the ‘Harrogate Advertiser,’ ‘Birmingham Mercury,’ ‘Dublin Daily Express,’ ‘Durham Chronicle,’ ‘Sussex Mercury,’ and ‘Windsor Royal Standard.’ For a time he had some share along with Mr. William Sawyer in the ‘Brighton Excursionist.’ He also wrote ‘Blossoms of Poetry,’ 1841; ‘Spring Gatherings,’ 1845; ‘Lays for the Times,’ 1845; ‘Onward,’ 1848; ‘Peals from the Belfry,’ 1853; ‘Slander, a Remonstrance in Rhyme,’ 1860; ‘Life of Blondin,’ 1862; ‘Finger-post Guide to London;’ ‘Staves for the Human Ladder,’ 1850; ‘All about Shakspere,’ 1864; and ‘Daisies in the Grass,’ 1865 (this is a volume of poems by Banks and his wife). He took part in the tercentenary of Shakespeare and the Durham Burns centenary. He was actively interested in the success of friendly societies and mechanics' institutes.

It was the intention of his wife to edit a complete collection of his poems, and to write a memoir of his active public career. Unfortunately in the later and clouded years of his life he destroyed much of the requisite material. He died after a long and painful illness, 3 May 1881, in London, and is buried in Abney Park Cemetery.

[Information supplied by Mrs. G. L. Banks, and by personal friends.]  BANKS, JOHN (fl. 1696), a dramatist of the Restoration, of whom very little is definitely known, is supposed to have been born about 1650. He was bred to the law, and was a member of the society of the New Inn. In 1677 he was tempted by the success of Lee's ‘Rival Queens’ to write a similar tragedy in verse, entitled ‘Rival Kings,’ and this was accepted and played at the Theatre Royal. In November 1678 another tragedy by Banks, the ‘Destruction of Troy,’ was acted at the Dorset Garden Theatre, and printed in 1679. In 1682 was brought out at the Theatre Royal the ‘Unhappy Favourite,’ a tragedy on the romantic fate of the Earl of Essex. This enjoyed considerable success, and Dryden wrote the prologue and the epilogue. It is a play which, although ill-written, showed a considerable power over the emotions of the audience, and Banks doubtless imagined that it was to be the precursor of a long theatrical success. He was, however, disappointed. In 1683 he wrote the ‘Innocent Usurper,’ a play founded on the story of Lady Jane Grey, but he failed to find for it either a publisher or a stage. He was scarcely less unfortunate with his ‘Island Queens’ in 1684, for that also was rejected at the theatres. He printed it, however, and twenty years later, on 6 March 1704, it was brought out at Drury Lane as the ‘Albion Queens,’ and so reprinted. For many years Banks did not appear before the public. In 1692 he brought out his ‘Virtue betrayed,’ a tragedy on the story of Anne Boleyn, which was the most successful of all his works, and held the stage until 1766. In October 1693 he again brought forward the ‘Innocent Usurper,’ but this time the play was prohibited. He published it in 1694. His last production was ‘Cyrus the Great,’ produced at Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1696. For some time the actors refused to act this play on account of its insipidity; their objections, however, were overruled, and the piece enjoyed a considerable success, but had to be withdrawn after the fourth night on account