William Baker (3 October 1743 – 20 January 1824) was a British politician.

Life

Bayfordbury Hall, near Hertford, Hertfordshire - geograph

William Baker was the eldest son of Sir William Baker, MP, 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 ...

(1753–60). Admitted to

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

in 1761, he did not matriculate there. He studied law at the

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 ...

(1761), where he was

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 ...

in 1775. He succeeded his father in 1770, inheriting and renovating the

Bayfordbury Bayfordbury, Hertfordshire, is a large Grade II* listed country house with surrounding parkland, and the location of a University of Hertfordshire campus, housing its biology/geography field station and observatory. History of Bayfordbury Bayford ...

country house in Hertfordshire. He was elected a

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

for the same year. Baker was the

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 Aldborough 4 March 1777 – 8 September 1780,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, ne ...

7 September 1780 – 30 March 1784,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

23 June 1790 – 10 July 1802 and 11 February 1805 – 11 May 1807 and

Plympton Erle Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Pl ...

22 March 1768 – 10 October 1774. He died at the age of 80. He had married twice: firstly with Juliana, the daughter of

Thomas Penn Thomas Penn (8 March 1702 – 21 March 1775) was an English landowner and mercer who was the chief proprietor of Pennsylvania from 1746 to 1775. Penn is best known for his involvement in negotiating the Walking Purchase, a contested land cessi ...

of Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire and the granddaughter of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

Governor of Pennsylvania A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, with whom he had a daughter; and secondly with Sophia, the daughter of

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit. ...

Copt Hall Copped Hall, also known as Copt Hall or Copthall, is a mid-18th-century English country house close to Waltham Abbey, Essex, which has been undergoing restoration since 1999. Copped Hall is visible from the M25 motorway between junctions 26 and ...

, Essex, with whom he had 9 sons and 6 daughters.

References

historyofparliamentonline.org, ''Baker, William (1743-1824), of Bayfordbury, Herts.''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, William 1743 births 1824 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple Sheriffs of the City of London Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Hertfordshire British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Hertfordshire UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plympton Erle