Sir John Birkenhead or Berkenhead (''c''.1617 – 4 December 1679) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

writer and

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, imprisoned several times during the

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for his obtrusive

royalism A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of govern ...

. Birkenhead was the supposed son of Randall Birkenhead (''c''.1580 – 1636) and Margaret Middleton (d. 1669). The parish register of Witton-cum-Twambrooks records a baptism for John Birkenhead, son of Randall, on 24 March 1615 but a note next to the entry claims it is a modern forgery. He was educated at Witton Grammar School, Northwich. He proceeded to

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, and was a Fellow of All Souls' from 1639 to 1648. Birkenhead began producing England's first official news-book ''

Mercurius Aulicus ''Mercurius Aulicus'' was one of the "most important early newspapers" in England, famous during the English Civil War for its role in Royalist propaganda. Creation The ''Mercurius Aulicus'' newspaper originated during the English Civil War from ...

'' in 1643. The principal writer was

Peter Heylin Peter Heylyn or Heylin (29 November 1599 – 8 May 1662) was an English ecclesiastic and author of many polemical, historical, political and theological tracts. He incorporated his political concepts into his geographical books ''Microcosmu ...

but Birkenhead brought

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

, slanders and incisive polemics which the parliamentary party found difficult to rebuff. His loyalty to the royalist party was rewarded on the restoration of the monarchy when he was made licenser of the press and joint editor, with Henry Muddiman, of the new official news-book ''Mercurius Publicus''. His contribution to journalism after the restoration was slight, concentrating more on a political career and being elected MP for Wilton,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

in June 1661. He was knighted the following year and was a founding member of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. In 1664 he was sworn in as a Master of Requests, serving until his death. He is buried in an unmarked grave near the school door at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

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Notes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birkenhead, John 1679 deaths English male journalists Original Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Sir John Deane's College English MPs 1661–1679 White's Professors of Moral Philosophy Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Year of birth uncertain