Sir James Duke, 1st Baronet

Sir James Duke, 1st Baronet (31 January 1792 – 28 May 1873)[2] was a British Liberal Party politician. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1848–1849, and sat in the House of Commons from 1837 to 1865.

For other people named James Duke, see James Duke (disambiguation).

Sir James Duke, 1st Baronet
Sir James Duke (1792–1873), 1st Baronet
Lord Mayor of London
In office
1848–1849
Preceded byJohn Wilks
Succeeded byThomas Farncomb
Parliamentary groupLiberal Party
ConstituencyBoston
Member of Parliament for City of London
In office
1849–1865
Preceded byJames Pattison
Succeeded byWilliam Lawrence
Member of Parliament for Boston
In office
1837–1849
Sir James Duke (1792–1873), Bt
Sir James Duke (1792–1873), Bt
Drinking fountain given by Sir James Duke to the church of St Dunstan-in-the-West in the City of London[1]

Born in Montrose,[3] he was elected at the 1837 general election as a member of parliament (MP) for the borough of Boston[4] in Lincolnshire, and was re-elected at the 1841[5] and 1847 general elections.[6][7]

He was elected as Sheriff of the City of London in 1837 and knighted on 5 April of that year.[8] Sir James was Lord Mayor of London in 1847. In June of that year a vacancy arose in the City of London constituency when the Liberal MP James Pattison died at age 62.[9] A group of leading Liberals from the City met on 16 July and resolved to nominate Duke for the vacancy if he would consent, agreeing that:

"impressed with the opinion that the personal character and commercial experience of the Rt. Hon. Sir James Duke, combined with his business habits, and his long acquaintance with public affairs as a member of the House of Commons, eminently qualify him for the representation of the various interests of this city in Parliament"[10]

A deputation was sent to the Mansion House, where Duke was asked to stand, which he immediately agreed to do.[10]

He resigned his Boston seat[7] by taking the Chiltern Hundreds,[11] and at the by-election on 27 July 1849 he was elected as an MP for the City of London constituency,[12] winning more than twice as many votes as his sole opponent, the Conservative Party candidate Lord John Manners.[13]

He was made a baronet in October 1849,[14] on 30 November he was appointed as a commissioner for enquiring into Smithfield Market.[15] He held the City of London seat until he stood down from the Commons at the 1865 general election.[9][13]

He was appointed High Sheriff of Sussex for 1872.[16]

References
  1. Ward-Jackson, Philip (2003), Public Sculpture of the City of London, Public Sculpture of Britain, vol. 7, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, pp. 125–126
  2. Leigh Rayment's list of baronets – Baronetcies beginning with "D" (part 3)
  3. Mitchell, David (1866). "History of Montrose".
  4. "No. 19532". The London Gazette. 15 August 1837. p. 2159.
  5. "No. 20000". The London Gazette. 20 July 1841. p. 1893.
  6. "No. 20763". The London Gazette. 10 August 1847. p. 2922.
  7. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 55. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  8. "No. 19482". The London Gazette. 7 April 1837. p. 932.
  9. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
  10. "Representation of London". London. 17 July 1849. p. 6, col E.
  11. "No. 21006". The London Gazette. 7 August 1849. p. 2451.
  12. "No. 21003". The London Gazette. 27 July 1849. p. 2351.
  13. Craig, pages 5–6
  14. "No. 21035". The London Gazette. 6 November 1849. p. 3304.
  15. "No. 21042". The London Gazette. 30 November 184. p. 3647.
  16. "No. 23825". The London Gazette. 6 February 1872. p. 403.
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