John Law

John Law (1671-1729) was a Scottish-French financier and speculator, son of a goldsmith and banker, born at Edinburgh. He was early noted for his calculating power. Visiting London in 1691 he got into debt, sold his estate, killed a man in a duel, and escaped to Amsterdam, where he studied finance. He came to Scotland with financial proposals for the Government in 1700, but they were refused, and he spent some years on the Continent as a gambling adventurer. In 1716 he and his brother William started a private bank in Paris, the success of which induced the Regent Orleans in 1718 to institute the "Royal Bank of France," with Law as director. Next year he floated the "Mississippi Scheme" for the settlement of Louisiana, but after a show of success the scheme proved a bubble. He had to fly to Brussels, his property being confiscated. He died at Venice, poor, but scheming to the end.

Nearby pages
John Lawrence, John Lawrence Toole, John Le Clerc, John Leech, John Leland, John Leyden