John Henniker, 1st Baron Henniker (15 June 1724 – 18 April 1803), known previously as John Henniker then as Sir John Henniker, 2nd Baronet, from 1782 to 1800, was a British merchant and Member of Parliament.

Life

He was the son of John Henniker, of London, a Russian merchant and Freeman of Rochester. Henniker too became a merchant dealing in leather and furs. He was a supporter of the slave trade. He was also involved in politics and was appointed

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

for 1758 before being elected to 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 ...

for

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: In India, the armies of the Durrani Empire from Afghanistan, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, killing over 1 ...

, an expensive contest which needed £5,500 to get him elected to the Commons.to spend £5,500 from the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

's funds. He held that seat until

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Re ...

, and then represented

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

from 1774 to 1784. He was elected 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 ...

in 1779. He married Anne Major, daughter of

Sir John Major, 1st Baronet Sir John Major, 1st Baronet (17 May 1698 – 22 February 1781) was a British merchant, Member of Parliament and Sheriff of Sussex. Major was born at Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and started in business there, commanding a ship ...

. In 1782, Henniker succeeded his father-in-law as second Baronet of Worlingsworth Hall according to a special remainder. In 1800 he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron Henniker, of

Stratford-upon-Slaney Stratford-on-Slaney (), also known as Stratford or Stratford-upon-Slaney, is a small village on the River Slaney in west County Wicklow in Ireland. It was built by the Earl of Aldborough from 1774. According to the 2016 census of Ireland, censu ...

in the County of Wicklow. Lord Henniker died in April 1803, aged 78, and was buried in Rochester Cathedral. The very large monument is by John Bacon. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son

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 * Second E ...

. His youngest son, the Hon. Sir Brydges Trecothick Henniker, became a

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

in the Army and was created a Baronet in 1813. His daughter Anne married

Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough Edward Augustus Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, (1736 – 2 January 1801) of Belan house, styled The Honourable from 1763 to 1777 and Viscount Amiens in the latter year, was an Irish peer, Whig (British political faction), Whig politician, a ...

. The town of

Henniker, New Hampshire Henniker is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, the reported total population of the town was 6,185, although the figure, 27.9% greater than the 2010 population, has been questioned by local official ...

in the United States, was named after Lord Henniker.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henniker, John Henniker, 1st Baron 1724 births 1803 deaths Peers of Ireland created by George III British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dover High sheriffs of Essex Fellows of the Royal Society 1

18th-century British merchants

Life

See also

Notes

References