William Joseph Denison (May 1770 – 2 August 1849) was an English banker and politician.
He was born in Princes Street, Lothbury, the only son of Joseph Denison (1726?–1806), who had gone to London from the west of Yorkshire at an early age and amassed a fortune.
William was successful in, and became senior partner of, Denison, Heywood, & Kennard, bankers, in Lombard Street. He sat in Parliament as a Whig for Camelford 1796–1802, was elected for Kingston-upon-Hull in 1806, and was the member for Surrey from 1818 until his death.
He inherited estates in Surrey (Denbies) and Yorkshire (Seamer) on the death of his father in 1806. During his lifetime Denison increased his father's large fortune and added to the Denbies estate.
His death took place in Pall Mall, London on 2 August 1849. Worth an estimated £2,300,000, he died unmarried, and left virtually all of his wealth to his nephew Lord Albert Conyngham, on condition that he took the name Denison.
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "". Dictionary of National Biography. 14. London: Smith, Elder & Co.