Sir George Duckett, 1st Baronet (24 October 1725 – 22 December 1822) was a British naval administrator and politician. Born George Jackson, probably in Yorkshire, the third but oldest surviving son of George Jackson (1687/8–1758) of Hill House, Richmond, Yorkshire, and Ellerton Abbey, Yorkshire, and Hannah, daughter of William Ward of Guisborough, Yorkshire. He sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Weymouth & Melcombe Regis from 1786 to 1788, and for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

from 1790 to 1796. He was created 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 14th ...

on 21 June 1791. Jackson was made Deputy Secretary to

The Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom that was responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Historically, its titular head was the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of its h ...

in 1766 and appointed Judge Advocate of the Fleet in 1768. In this capacity he was largely responsible for the conduct of the court martial of Admiral Lord Keppel in 1779 and the subsequent enquiry into the evidence of Sir

Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 du ...

. Jackson resigned from the secretaryship in 1782 but remained Judge Advocate until his death. He was a friend and patron of Captain

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

. In his honour, Captain Cook named both Cape Jackson in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and

Port Jackson Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. He was interested in improving inland waterways, and was sole proprietor of the

Stort Navigation The Stort Navigation is the canalised section of the River Stort running from the town of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, downstream to its confluence with the Lee Navigation at Feildes Weir near Rye House, Hertfordshire, Rye House, Hoddesd ...

in Hertfordshire. He married firstly in 1745 his cousin Mary Ward (d.1754), and they had three sons and three daughters. Secondly, on 9 September 1775 at St Margaret's Church, Westminster, he married Grace Neale (c.1750–1798), widow of Robert Neale and granddaughter of George Duckett (MP for Calne), with whom he had a son, George (born 1777). In 1797 under the terms of the will of her uncle Thomas Duckett, Sir George assumed, by Royal Licence, the name and arms of that family, becoming Sir George Duckett, 1st Baronet. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son George.

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Sir George Duckett
– Bishop's Stortford Tourist Information Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:Duckett, Sir George, 1st Baronet 1725 births 1822 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from Richmond, North Yorkshire