David Papillon FRS (1691 – 26 February 1762) of Acrise Place,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

was a British lawyer and politician 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. ...

between 1722 and 1741.

Life

Papillon was the eldest son of

Phillip Papillon Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

of Acrise, MP for , and his first wife Anne Jolliffe, daughter of William Jolliffe of Caverswall Castle, Staffordshire. His paternal grandparents were Jane and Thomas Papillon. He was educated at Morland’s School,

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By t ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and was admitted at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1706. He continued his studies in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Nethe ...

from 1707 to 1709, before undertaking the Grand Tour in Germany in 1709. He was called to the bar in 1715. In 1717, he married Mary Keyser, the daughter of Timothy Keyser, a London Merchant. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

in 1720. Papillon was returned unopposed 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

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, ...

at the 1722 British general election. He was returned at a contest at the 1727 British general election, but was unseated on petition on 29 April 1728. He regained the seat at a by-election on 13 May 1728 when one of the petitioners chose to sit elsewhere. At the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's inc ...

, he was returned in contests at both New Romney and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

on the government interest and opted to sit for Dover. He gave up his seat at Dover to the Sackville family at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw supp ...

, in return for appointment as

Commissioner of excise HM Customs and Excise (properly known as Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at the time of its dissolution) was a department of the British Government formed in 1909 by the merger of HM Customs and HM Excise; its primary responsibility was the ...

from 1742. He succeeded his father to Acrise Place in 1736. In 1744 he became a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of his Inn. He held his post with the excise until 1754 when he arranged for it to be transferred to his son, with the help of his schoolfellow and lifelong friend, Lord Hardwicke. He died 26 Feb. 1762 leaving three sons and six daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papillon, David 1691 births 1762 deaths People from Folkestone and Hythe District Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dover British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Fellows of the Royal Society