George Cooper (1626–1689) was an English politician who sat in the

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

at various times between 1654 and 1673. He fought in the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

army in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

Life

Cooper was the second son of

Sir John Cooper, 1st Baronet Sir John Cooper, 1st Baronet, 24 October 1597 to 23 March 1631, was a member of the landed gentry and MP for Poole from 1625 to 1629. He died of tuberculosis, leaving debts of over £40,000 and is best remembered for being the father of Antho ...

of Rockbourne, Hampshire and was baptised on 15 December 1626. Throughout his life he was overshadowed by his brother Anthony Ashley Cooper. He was a student at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

in 1642. He joined the parliamentary army and was a captain by 1644 and major by 1646. He was commissioner for militia for Tower Hamlets from 1648 to 1649 and a J.P. for Middlesex from 1648 to July 1660. By 1649 he was also J.P. for Dorset.. From 1649 to February 1660 he was trustee for maintenance of ministers. In 1650 he was a member of the high court of justice. He was commissioner for assessment for Middlesex in 1650 and 1652 and became J.P. for Wiltshire instead of Dorset in 1653.History of Parliament Online – Cooper, George
/ref> In 1654, Cooper was elected member of parliament for

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

in the

First Protectorate Parliament The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the H ...

.Other sources assign his brother to the seat Also in 1654, he was a member of the high court of justice and commissioner for scandalous ministers for Wiltshire. He was commissioner for oyer and terminer on the Western circuit in 1655. In 1657 he was commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire. He was commissioner for assessment for Middlesex and Wiltshire in January 1660, commissioner of Admiralty from February to July 1660 and commissioner for militia for Middlesex and Wiltshire in March 1660. In April 1660 he became freeman of Poole and was elected MP for Poole in the Convention Parliament. His main interest concerned the crown lands in Clarendon Park, which he had bought for £3,000 and hoped to retain with support from the Presbyterian peers. However his petition was unsuccessful and the park was granted to the

George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (6 December 1608 3 January 1670) was an English military officer and politician who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support ...

in 1665. He continued living nearby at Farley. In 1666 Cooper obtained the post of treasurer of prizes at Dover 1666. He was commissioner of revenue arrears in 1671. In 1673 he was elected MP for Poole again, but the election was declared void because his brother, then Lord Chancellor, had issued the writ during the recess without parliament's authority. He was commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire from 1673 to 1680. Cooper died at the age of about 62 in or before July 1689 when he was described as "recently deceased".

Family

Cooper married Elizabeth Oldfield, daughter of John Oldfield, fishmonger and sugar refiner of London, in July 1647. They had two sons and six daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, George 1626 births 1689 deaths Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Roundheads English MPs 1654–1655 English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...