Sir James Duke, 1st Baronet (31 January 1792 – 28 May 1873) was a British

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. He was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

in 1848–1849, and 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. T ...

from 1837 to 1865. Born in Montrose, he was elected at the 1837 general election 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 o ...

(MP) for the

borough of Boston The Borough of Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. The borough covers a wider area that includes villages such as Wyberton, Butterwick, Kirton-in-Holl ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, and was re-elected at the

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom, and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the i ...

and 1847 general elections. He was elected as

Sheriff of the City of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

in 1837 and knighted on 5 April of that year. Sir James was

in 1847. In June of that year a vacancy arose in the City of London constituency when the Liberal MP James Pattison died at age 62. A group of leading Liberals from the City met on 16 July and resolved to nominate Duke for the vacancy if he would consent, agreeing that:

"impressed with the opinion that the personal character and commercial experience of the Rt. Hon. Sir James Duke, combined with his business habits, and his long acquaintance with public affairs as a member of the House of Commons, eminently qualify him for the representation of the various interests of this city in Parliament"

A deputation was sent to the Mansion House, where Duke was asked to stand, which he immediately agreed to do. He

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

his Boston seat by taking the

Chiltern Hundreds The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three " hundreds" and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the legal fictions used to effect ...

, and at the by-election on 27 July 1849 he was elected as an MP for the City of London constituency, winning more than twice as many votes as his sole opponent, the Conservative Party candidate

Lord John Manners John James Robert Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland, (13 December 18184 August 1906), known as Lord John Manners before 1888, was an English wikt:statesman, statesman. Youth and poetry Rutland was born at Belvoir Castle, the younger son of John Ma ...

.Craig, pages 5–6 He was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

in October 1849, on 30 November he was appointed as a commissioner for enquiring into Smithfield Market. He held the City of London seat until he stood down from the Commons at the 1865 general election. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Sussex The office of Sheriff of Sussex was established before the Norman Conquest. The Office of sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office ...

for 1872.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, James 1792 births 1873 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 Sheriffs of the City of London 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians High Sheriffs of Sussex