Sir William Middleton 5th Baronet (1738–1795), was a British soldier and politician who sat in 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 ...

from 1774 to 1795. Middleton was the son of Sir John Lambert Middleton, 4th Baronet of

Belsay Castle Belsay Castle is a 14th-century medieval castle situated at Belsay, Northumberland, England. It is a Scheduled Monument and a listed building, Grade I listed building. The main structure, a substantial three-storey rectangular Peel tower, pele ...

, a former merchant, and his wife Anne Perkins, a widow and daughter of Sir Nathaniel Hodges, and was born on 6 June 1738. He joined the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

and was Cornet in 1756 and Lieutenant in 1759. He was severely wounded at the

Battle of Minden The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of F ...

on 1 August 1759, and was left lame for life. In 1762 he became captain. He succeeded his father in the

baronetcy 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 2 March 1768 and retired from the army in 1774. He married Jane Monck, daughter of Lawrence Monck of Caenby, Lincolnshire on 20 April 1774, In

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and feathers British customs ...

Middleton was elected as Member of Parliament for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

in a contested election when he came second in the poll. He promised to act an independent and disinterested part in Parliament and generally did so. He was re-elected in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

and

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took pa ...

. He is reported as attending parliament infrequently and never spoke. Middleton died on 7 July 1795.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Sir William, 5th Baronet 1738 births 1795 deaths British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796

305 Year 305 ( CCCV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1058 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 305 for thi ...

Royal Horse Guards officers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies