John Halliday (c. 1737–1805) was a British politician who sat 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 1775 to 1784. Halliday was the eldest son of John Halliday of Yard House, Taunton and his wife Mary Welman, daughter of Isaac Welman of Poundisford Park, Somerset. He succeeded his father in 1754. In 1756 he entered

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 ...

. He founded the banking firm of Halliday and Co. in Lombard Street in about 1770, and went into partnership with Sir John Duntze, Bt in 1776. Halliday contested

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

on the interest of the Market House Society in the 1774 general election but was defeated. However he was returned on petition as

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 ...

on 16 March 1775. In

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...

he was returned without contest with the help of Lord North whom he was now supporting. Halliday did not stand at the 1784 general election because he hoped to be given a post as commissioner of taxes. To this end he gave up his partnership in the banking house to remove any objection to the appointment, and worked hard to get an Administration supporter returned at Taunton. In spite of this effort and sacrifice, he did not get the post. He stood again for Taunton in

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took p ...

but was defeated. Halliday died unmarried on 21 April 1805, aged 68.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Halliday, John 1730s births 1805 deaths People from Taunton Members of the Inner Temple British bankers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784