John Ord (1729–1814) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

from 1774 to 1790.

Life

The son of Robert Ord and Mary Darnell, he was educated at

Newcome's School Newcome's School was a fashionable boys' school in Hackney, then to the east of London, founded in the early 18th century. A number of prominent Whig families sent their sons there. The school closed in 1815, and the buildings were gutted in 18 ...

in Hackney and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He graduated B.A. in 1750, and then held a lay fellowship.

Called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, Ord in 1777 became

Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster The Attorney-General of the Duchy of Lancaster is the law officer of the Crown for matters arising in the Duchy of Lancaster. Attorneys-General *1478–1483: Richard Empson *1519–1522: John Hales *1522–1526: Edmund Knightley *1526–1531: ...

, and in 1778 master in chancery. He stood unsuccessfully for Morpeth in 1761. He was Member of Parliament for

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester District in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother (Western), River Rother, inland from the English Channel and north of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first reco ...

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

, and

Wendover Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along t ...

(1774–1790), and was some time chairman of ways and means in the House of Commons. Ord was known also for his garden at Purser's Cross near Fulham in London, which he laid out in 1756, and where exotic trees grew. The variety "Ord's Apple" was raised there by his sister-in-law Anne Simpson. Also known as "Simpson's Pippin" or "Simpson's Seedling", it was from seed of the

Newtown Pippin The Newtown Pippin, also known as Albemarle Pippin, is an American apple that originated in the late 17th or early 18th century and is still cultivated on a small scale. At one time, there were two very similar apple cultivars known as the 'Yello ...

. Ord was a member of the Horticultural Society, and from 1780 a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He died on 6 June 1814, and was buried in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

churchyard.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ord, John 1729 births 1814 deaths English barristers Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of Lincoln's Inn People educated at Newcome's School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge