Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet

Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet (c. 1704 – 18 January 1768), of Lee Place in Kent, was an English merchant and banker who served as a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London.

Fludyer was the eldest son of Samuel Fludyer, a London clothier but originally from Frome in Somerset, and was educated at Westminster School. He was by upbringing a religious dissenter, though in later years he moved towards the established church. Joining his father's business, he expanded it greatly until he was one of the City's foremost merchants; by the time of his death his fortune was said to amount to £900,000. (His younger brother, Sir Thomas, was his junior partner in the company and was knighted at a City of London reception for the King while Sir Samuel was Lord Mayor.)

Becoming a member of the Clothworkers' Company, he was elected to Common Council in 1734, became an alderman in 1751, was sheriff in 1754-1755 and Lord Mayor in 1761-1762. In 1753 he also became a director of the Bank of England, serving four terms, and was its Deputy Governor from 1766 until his death in 1768. In September 1755, in his capacity as sheriff, he presented an address from the Lord Mayor, aldermen and common council to George II expressing satisfaction at the King's safe return from his German dominions, and the King marked the occasion by knighting him. Four years later, on 14 November 1759, he was raised to the dignity of a baronetcy. The elaborate wig that he wore on becoming Lord Mayor in 1761 was depicted in William Hogarth's 1761 engraving Five Orders of Periwigs.

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