John Falconer (21 October 1674 – 1764) ), of

Phesdo Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and ...

, Kincardine, was a Scottish Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1741. He was a strong Francophile. Falconer was the eldest son of Sir James Falconer, Lord Phesdo, Shire Commissioner, and his wife Elizabeth Trent. He was admitted as an advocate in 1700. In 1701 and 1702 he was a Commissioner of justiciary for the Highlands. He succeeded his father in 1705. When he was young, he lived for a long time in France and developed a great admiration and affection for the country. At the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

, Falconer was returned with the support of George Keith, Earl of Kintore as a Whig

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

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

in a contest against the sitting Whig MP. He voted steadily in support of Walpole's administration without asking any favour. When asked to explain, he said he admired the French way of government and considered Walpole's measures would help to make Britain one day a province of France which he considered a blessing. He did not stand again at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

. Falconer died unmarried on 21 November 1764, aged 90. He was described as a very keen golfer and a very facetious, pleasing companion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falconer, John 1674 births 1764 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1734–1741