Laurence Sulivan (1713–1786) was an Anglo-Irish politician,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

first for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

in 1762 and then for Ashburton in 1768. He was also Chairman of the British East India Company. Sulivan was born in Ireland and moved to work for the East India Company, returning to England in 1753 with a moderate fortune, which enabled him to purchase Ponsbourne Park in Hertfordshire in 1761. He was elected a Director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

for 1755–8, 1764–5, 1769–70, 1771–2, 1778–80 and 1783 to his death. He was

Deputy Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

for 1763–4, 1772–3, 1780–1 and Chairman for 1758–9, 1760-2 and 1781–2. He had married in India and had two sons. Ponsbourne passed to his son Stephen, who sold it in 1811. His grandson, Laurence Sulivan (1783–1866) was a philanthropist, statesman and Deputy Secretary at War.

References

1713 births 1786 deaths Directors of the British East India Company British East India Company people Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ashburton British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 18th-century British people {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub