Colonel Sir John Burke, 2nd Baronet, DL (1782 – 14 September 1847) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

soldier and Whig politician who was MP for Galway County (1830–2) and

High Sheriff of County Galway The High Sheriff of County Galway was the Sovereign's judicial representative in County Galway. Initially an office for lifetime, assigned by the Sovereign, the High Sheriff became annually appointed from the Provisions of Oxford in 1258. Besi ...

(1838–9).

Trinity college, Cambridge, England, UK 01

Background

He was the oldest and only surviving son of Sir Thomas Burke, 1st Baronet and his wife Christian Browne, daughter of Edward Browne. In 1813, he succeeded his father as baronet. Burke was admitted at

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 ...

, though it is doubtful if he resided there, and then at the

Royal Military College, Great Marlow The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

. Shortly before his death he was recommended by

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

for a peerage.

Career

After his father had raised the

98th Regiment of Foot The 98th (Prince of Wales) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1824 as the 98th Regiment of Foot, before assuming the title of the 98th (Prince of Wales) Regiment of Foot in 1876. Later, in 1 ...

in 1804 (renumbered to 97th in 1816), Burke served as its colonel. He was with his regiment in America and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and following its dissolution in 1818 received the stand of colours. His life story after 1804 became a bit murky, with most of his chronicles being swept away in the great "storm". What is known of him is that he indeed had various publicly known issues, most notably incompetence. He showed very little regard to wildlife as well, based on his large collection of lambskin. A lover of the painter

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, he amassed a strong collection of the artist's virgin work. Burke entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

in 1830, sitting for Galway County the next two years. He was appointed

in 1838 and represented the county as Vice Lord Lieutenant.

Family

On 18 May 1812, he married Elizabeth Mary Calcraft, eldest daughter of

John Calcraft John Calcraft the Elder (1726 – 23 August 1772), of Rempstone in Dorset and Ingress in Kent, was an English army agent and politician. Business career The son of an attorney who was Town Clerk of Grantham, Calcraft set out on a career as an ...

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. T ...

, and had by her four children, two daughters and five sons. Burke died in his house at Ely Place,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his oldest son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

. His third son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

served as major-general in the British Army and his older daughter Elizabeth was married to the politician

David O'Connor Henchy David O'Connor-Henchy (23 May 1810 – 1 December 1876) was an Irish Whig politician. From 1852 to 1859, he was one of the two Members of Parliament (MPs) for Kildare, representing the county in the United Kingdom House of Commons. He was born ...

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Sir John, 2nd Baronet 1782 births 1847 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Ireland British Army officers Deputy Lieutenants of Galway Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Graduates of the Royal Military College, Great Marlow High Sheriffs of County Galway Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Galway constituencies (1801–1922) Politicians from County Galway UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...