Sir John Key, 1st Baronet (16 August 1794 – 14 July 1858) was a wholesale stationer and Whig politician in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was elected Sheriff of the City of London in 1824 and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

for two years, from 1830 to 1832. He was elected at the 1832 general election as a member of parliament (MP) for the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, but resigned his seat on 5 August 1833 by taking the

Chiltern Hundreds The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three hundred (county division), ancient hundreds and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the ...

. During his parliamentary career he supported the abolition of slavery, the repeal of part of the assessed taxes, abrogation of the Corn Laws, the adoption of triennial parliaments and the vote by ballot. 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 14th ...

in 1831, of Thornbury and Denmark Hill. In 1853 he ran for election to the office of Chamberlain of the City of London, emerging victorious after a closely fought contest with the young liveryman Benjamin Scott. He died in the office of Chamberlain, and Scott was elected unopposed in his stead. He died at his home in Streatham on 14 July 1858 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
''Key, Sir John, first baronet (1794–1858)''. Retrieved 4 July 2012 John Key married Charlotte Green on 17 Aug 1814. They had five children: # Kingsmill Grove (born 7 May 1815) # Thomas Kelly (10 July 1819) # Elizabeth Susan (13 March 1821) # Lucy Wilson (18 November 1822) # Charlotte Marian (7 May 1826) Lucy Wilson Key married George Parbury (his second wife) on 22 March 1849 at St Mary, Thornbury in Gloucestershire.

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* 1794 births 1858 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1832–1835 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Sheriffs of the City of London Burials at West Norwood Cemetery {{Lord-Mayor-of-London-stub