Wilkes, Israel (d. 1805)

London merchant.

Social acquaintance of Franklin and the Stevensons in London in the 1760s. Later emigrated to the United States.

Son of Israel and Sarah (Heaton) Wilkes of Clerkenwell; elder brother of the radical writer John Wilkes. Married Elizabeth de Ponthieu; at least two children. Grandfather of the explorer Charles Wilkes. Died at New York.