John Gally Knight ( – 20 October 1804) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

who served in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1784 to 1796. He was the eldest son of Rev. Henry Gally, rector of St. Giles-in-the Fields, Holborn, Middlesex and educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

(1753–57) and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

(1757), where he was awarded LLB in 1764 and elected fellow in 1764. He trained in the law at

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 ...

(1756) and was called to the bar in 1765. He was elected as a

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 ...

(MP) for Aldborough at a by-election in January 1784, and held the seat until the 1796 general election, which he did not contest. He was born John Gally, but adopted the Knight name and arms in 1768 on inheriting substantial properties from his mother Elizabeth, sole heiress of the Knight family of

Warsop Warsop is a town and civil parish in the Mansfield district, Nottinghamshire, England, on the outskirts of the remnants of Sherwood Forest.OS Explorer Map 270: Sherwood Forest: (1:25 000): At the 2001 census it had a population of 12,365, reducin ...

Firbeck Firbeck is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with Nottinghamshire. It lies between Maltby and Oldcotes, off the A634 and B6463 roads. Firbeck had a population of ...

and elsewhere. He inherited Firbeck Hall in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, which served as his seat. He was unmarried. His estate descended via his brother to his nephew

Henry Gally Knight Henry Gally Knight, F.R.S. (2 December 1786 – 9 February 1846) was a British politician, traveller and writer. Biography Knight was the only son of Henry Gally (afterwards Gally Knight), barrister, of Langold, and was educated at Eton and Tr ...

, himself later an MP for Aldborough.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gally Knight, John 1740s births 1804 deaths Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 High Sheriffs of Nottinghamshire People from the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham English barristers