Sir John Gibson (c. 1637 – 24 October 1717) was the founder of the

28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire R ...

. He was also the

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 o ...

for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1696–1698 and 1702.

Life

He was son of Sir John Gibson, of Alderstone, in

Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Stati ...

parish, near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. He entered the Dutch army, and obtained a captain's commission dated 9 March 1675; as major, in 1688, he accompanied William of Orange to England. He obtained from the English war office his commission as lieutenant-colonel on 28 February 1689; became colonel of a newly raised regiment on 16 February 1694; and colonel of a regiment to be raised (afterwards

) on 12 February 1702, holding the command until 1 February 1705. He was lieutenant-governor of

from 28 May 1689, until his death on 24 October 1717. He was commander-in-chief in 1697 of the land-forces sent to capture Newfoundland. He left England in March and returned in October, having secured the fishing rights of the English settlers. After unsuccessfully contesting the representation of Portsmouth in January 1696, he was elected for the borough in 1702, and was knighted by Queen Anne 6 September 1705.

Family

He left two sons, Francis and James, and two daughters; Anne Mary, the eldest, married General Robert Dalzell (1662–1758). His brothers were Sir Alexander Gibson of Pentland and Adiston, clerk to the privy council of Scotland and Sir Thomas Gibson of Keirhill, baronet.

References

;Attribution 1630s births 1717 deaths English MPs 1695–1698 Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1702–1705 Scottish soldiers Scottish knights {{18thC-England-MP-stub