Sir Edward Bates, 1st Baronet DL (17 March 1816 – 17 October 1896) was a ship-owner and Conservative politician who represented Plymouth.

He was sent to Calcutta in 1833 to join his elder brother in the business which his father had started since the ending of the East India Company monopoly.

He then started to buy ships, acquiring the newly built Jamsetjee Cursetjee, named after his Parsee partner in Bombay.

[1] Bates became Conservative Member of Parliament for Plymouth in 1871 and held the seat until 1880 when, on 25 June 1880, he was unseated on the grounds of illegal payments by his agents.

[3] He lived at Bellefield, West Derby, Liverpool, Lancashire, Manydown Park, Hampshire, and Gyrn Castle, Llanasa, Flintshire, Wales.