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 A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

, and his wife Anne, daughter of Edward Jennings, Member of Parliament for . He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1717, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1728. 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 Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, northwest of Charing Cross near Greater London's boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north. The population at the 2011 Census was 7,399. Haref ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. In 1742 Cooke entered parliament, as member for , supported by

Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth General Hugh Boscawen, 2nd Viscount Falmouth (20 March 1707 – 4 February 1782), styled The Honourable Hugh Boscawen between 1720 and 1734, was a British soldier and politician. Boscawen was the eldest son of Hugh Boscawen, 1st Viscount Falmouth, ...

. At this stage,

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. He had Strawb ...

called him "a pompous Jacobite". Leaving parliament in 1747, he was returned for in 1750. Initially a Tory, he became a follower of

William Pitt the elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

in the later 1750s. In the 1760s he opposed the

Stamp Act 1765 The Stamp Act 1765, also known as the Duties in American Colonies Act 1765 (5 Geo. III c. 12), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which imposed a direct tax on the British colonies in America and required that many printed materials i ...

. He was still the member for Middlesex when he died on 5 June 1768.

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 a Lieutenant-General in the Army.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, George 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 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Inner Temple People from Harefield Year of birth uncertain