Daniel Parker Coke (17 July 1745 – 6 December 1825), was an English barrister and

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 ...

Early life

Coke was the only son of Thomas Coke (1700–1776), a barrister, and his wife, Matilda Goodwin (1706–1777). He belonged to an old

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...

family, the Cokes of Trusley. He was educated at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational an ...

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

, and

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...

, graduating BA in 1769 and MA in 1772. He then studied law at Lincoln's Inn, London, where he was called to the bar in 1768.

Career

Coke practised as a barrister on the Midland circuit. In 1773 and 1774 he was in Italy where he met

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...

. Wright was not the first to note on what an attractive man Coke was, and Coke visited Wright at his abode in Italy. Coke is thought to be the only person who appears in a Wright painting and who also bought one of Wright's industrial landscapes. From 1776 to 1780 he was a Member of Parliament for

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

, then from 1780 to 1812 for

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. From 1793, Coke supported the British government's policy on war with France. By the 1802 general election Coke was unpopular in Nottingham because of his support for the war, blamed for high

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing a ...

, and lost to Dr Joseph Birch of Preston. Coke petitioned against the result and in May 1803 won the new election. He fought Birch successfully again in 1806. After retiring from parliament, Coke continued as chairman of the Derbyshire

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

until 1818.

Legacy

Coke never married. He died in

in 1825 and he has a substantial monument in

Derby Cathedral The Cathedral Church of All Saints Derby, better known as Derby Cathedral, is a cathedral church in the city of Derby, England. In 1927, it was promoted from parish church status, to a cathedral, creating a seat for the Bishop of Derby, ...

.''Coke, Daniel Parker (1745–1825), barrister and politician'' by Mark Pottle in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' Joseph Wright painted a portrait of D'Ewes Coke and his wife and his very distant cousin Daniel. This painting is now in

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The coll ...

. Rev Dewes Coke, his wife and a relative
Derby Museum

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Daniel Parker 1745 births 1825 deaths People educated at Derby School Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Alumni of All Souls College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 People associated with Derby Museum and Art Gallery Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Derbyshire