The Honorable John St John (c.1746–1793) was an English MP and surveyor general of Crown lands. He was born the son of John St John, 2nd Viscount St John and brother of

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically des ...

. He was 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 ...

and

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

. He studied 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 ...

in 1765 and the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1767, being called to the bar in 1770. He was elected

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 Newport, IoW in 1773 and for Eye in 1774. In 1775 he was appointed to the well paid post of

Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown The post of Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown was an office under the English (later the United Kingdom) Crown, charged with the management of Crown lands. In 1810, by the Act 50 Geo III Cap 65, later amended by the Act 10 Geo IV ...

. In 1780 he was elected both for Newport and for

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

but chose to sit a second time for Newport. He wrote a play, ''Mary Queen of Scots'' which was produced in the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

in 1789 with the lead roles performed by

John Philip Kemble John Philip Kemble (1 February 1757 – 26 February 1823) was a British actor. He was born into a theatrical family as the eldest son of Roger Kemble, actor-manager of a touring troupe. His elder sister Sarah Siddons achieved fame with him on t ...

and

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...

. He also wrote a two-act opera, ''The Island of St. Marguerite'' which was produced at the Theatre Royal the same year. He died unmarried at his home in London in 1793. His brother Henry erected a monument to him in the church of

Lydiard Tregoze Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire, in the south-west of England. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in many other ways. The parish includes the small ...

, Wiltshire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St John, John Year of birth uncertain 1793 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Middle Temple Members of Parliament for Newport (Isle of Wight) British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 People educated at Eton College English barristers