Bancroft, Edward

Bancroft, Edward, 1744–1821, spy in the American Revolution, b. Westfield, Mass. While living in London, he became a friend of Benjamin Franklin and in the Revolution began to operate as an American secret agent. He reported to the American commissioners in France, but, unknown to them, he was a double agent and reported their movements to the British. Bancroft in 1778 gave advance information of the Franco-American alliance to the British. Evidence of his duplicity was revealed by Paul L. Ford in 1891.

Bibliography

See L. Einstein, Divided Loyalties (1933).

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Bancroft, Edward (1744–1821) secret agent, inventor; born in Westfield, Mass. He moved to England and was a double agent—working simultaneously for both Benjamin Franklin and the British government—during the American Revolution. He remained in England and made discoveries in textile dyes manufacturing.