Benjamin Keene (1753–1837) was a British barrister and member of parliament who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

from 1776 to 1784.

Early life

Keene was the eldest son of Rt. Rev.

Edmund Keene Edmund Keene (1714 – 6 July 1781) was an English churchman and academic, who was Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge and later served first as Bishop of Chester, then Bishop of Ely. Younger brother of the diplomat Benjamin Keene, the family were ...

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

, and his wife Mary Andrews, daughter. of Lancelot Andrews of Edmonton. His uncle,

Sir Benjamin Keene Sir Benjamin Keene (1697–1757) was a British diplomat, who was British Ambassador to Spain from 1729 to 1739, then again from 1748 until his death in Madrid in December 1757. He has been described as "by far the most prominent British agent in ...

, MP was ambassador to Madrid. Keene was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

from 1762 to 1770 and was admitted at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1767 and at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

on 6 October 1770. In 1774 he was awarded MA at Cambridge. He married Mary Ruck, daughter of George Ruck of Swyncombe, Oxfordshire on 18 March 1780, and succeeded his father in July 1780.

Political career

Keene was elected as

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

at a by-election on 7 November 1776. He was re-elected for Cambridge at the 1780 general election. In 1784 he was a member of the

St. Alban's Tavern group The St. Alban's Tavern group was an informal association of 78 British Members of Parliament who aimed to bring about a reconciliation of William Pitt the Younger and Charles James Fox in a unified Ministry. They were named after the St. Alban's Tav ...

who tried to bring Fox and Pitt together. He did not stand in

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 ...

Later life and legacy

Keene was High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in 1804. He died on 21 November 1837. By his marriage to Mary Ruck he had two sons, Benjamin, an Army officer, and Charles Edmund, a clergyman of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. He also had three daughters, Frances, Sophie-Elizabeth, and Mary-Anne, who married

Sir William Blackett, 5th Baronet There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Blackett family, both in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2013. The Blackett family can be traced back to the Blacketts/Blakheveds of Woodcroft, County Durham, some ...

. Admiral

William Ruck-Keene William George Elmhirst Ruck-Keene MVO (30 January 1867 – 30 January 1935) was an Admiral of the Royal Navy. From 1896 to 1916 he commanded naval vessels, mostly armoured cruisers, with a break of three years spent training cadets at the ...

(1867–1935) was one of his great-grandsons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keene, Benjamin 1753 births 1837 deaths Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire People educated at Eton College English barristers