Frans Banninck Cocq (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Banning[2]), free lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam (February 23, 1605 – January 1, 1655) was a knight, burgemeester (mayor) and military person of Amsterdam in the mid-17th century, the Dutch Golden Age.

He belonged to the wealthy and powerful Dutch patriciate, the regenten, and is best known as the central figure in Rembrandt's masterpiece The Night Watch.

[3] Frans was born on February 23, 1605, as the son of Jan Jansz Cock (1575–1633), a local pharmacist of German descendant in the Warmoesstraat.

One of her sisters, Geertruid Overlander van Purmerland (1609–1634), was married to statesman and Amsterdam burgomaster Cornelis de Graeff.

When Frans' father-in-law died, Banninck Cocq inherited his properties, including the title Free Lord of Purmerland and Ilpendam along with the castle of Ilpenstein north of Amsterdam and the canal house De Dolphijn in the city.

He is also depicted in the Bartholomeus van der Helst portrait of The Governors of the Longbow Civic Guards, 1653, now in the Amsterdam Museum.

Banninck Cocq is primarily known today for being depicted in a painting by Rembrandt van Rijn commissioned in 1638, which shows him and his company of civil guards.

A two-part family album created by Banninck Cocq contains numerous colored drawings and watercolors in addition to a copy of The Night Watch.

A number of handwritten additions were made by his nephew and later heir Pieter de Graeff after Banninck Cocq's death in 1655.

In fact, the forgeries were made in the handwriting of De Graeff, who had lost his municipal offices after the Rampjaar in 1672 and therefore also had reason and opportunity to improve his family history.

[17] While The Night Watch itself is widely referenced in media, some works focus specifically on Frans Banning Cocq: