George Cooke (died 1768)
George Cooke (c.1705–1768) was an English barrister and politician.
Life
He was the son of Sir George Cooke, a barrister who became chief prothonotary in the Court of Common Pleas, and his wife Anne, daughter of Edward Jennings, Member of Parliament for East Looe.[1][2][3] He entered the Inner Temple in 1717, and was called to the bar in 1728.[1]
Cooke was in practice as a barrister until his father died, in 1740. He had the life appointment as chief prothonotary, from 1732, and also inherited the family estate, Harefield in Middlesex.[1][2]
In 1742 Cooke entered parliament, as member for Tregony, supported by Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth.[4] At this stage, Horace Walpole called him "a pompous Jacobite". Leaving parliament in 1747, he was returned for Middlesex in 1750. Initially a Tory, he became a follower of William Pitt the elder in the later 1750s. In the 1760s he opposed the Stamp Act 1765. He was still the member for Middlesex when he died on 5 June 1768.[1]
Family
Cooke married Catherine, daughter of Sir Thomas Twisden, 4th Baronet, in 1735; they had seven sons. The heir was George John Cooke, who became Member of Parliament for Middlesex.[1][2]
Notes
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Tregony 1742 – 1747 With: Henry Penton |
Succeeded by Claudius Amyand William Trevanion |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Middlesex 1750 – 1768 With: Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, Bt to March 1768 John Wilkes from March 1768 |
Succeeded by John Glynn John Wilkes |
- 1768 deaths
- English barristers
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- British MPs 1741–47
- British MPs 1747–54
- British MPs 1754–61
- British MPs 1761–68
- British MPs 1768–74
- Members of the Inner Temple
- People from Harefield
- Year of birth uncertain
