Sir Francis Drake, 1st Baronet (1588 – 11 March 1637) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in two parliaments between 1625 and 1629. Drake was the son of Thomas Drake of Buckland Abbey, Devon and his wife Elizabeth Gregory, widow of John Elford. His father was the brother of

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580 (t ...

and accompanied him in his sea adventures. Drake was baptised at Buckland Monachorum on 16 September 1588. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 23 November 1604 aged 15, and was of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1606. In 1622 King James sought to make up the money denied him by parliament, by seeking voluntary contributions from the county gentry. Following this, Drake was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 2 August 1622. In 1624, Drake was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Plympton Erle Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

. He was elected MP for

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

in 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. He was High Sheriff of Devon in 1633. In 1628, Drake compiled the first detailed account of his uncle's circumnavigation, ''

The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake ''The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake'' is the earliest detailed account of Francis Drake's circumnavigation. It was compiled by Drake's nephew, also named Francis Drake, based on his uncle's journal, the notes of Francis Fletcher, and ...

'', based on his uncle's journal, the notes of

Francis Fletcher Francis Fletcher (March 1, 1814 – October 7, 1871) was a prominent pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon and a member of the Peoria Party.Dobbs Biography Born in Allerston, Yorkshire, England, he immigrated with his parents, William and Mary Flet ...

, and other sources. Drake married firstly Jane Bampfield who died in 1613, and secondly Joan Stroud, daughter of Sir William Stroud of Newnham. His son

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

succeeded to the baronetcy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Francis 1588 births 1637 deaths High Sheriffs of Devon Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1628–1629 Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Devon Members of the Parliament of England for Plympton Erle