Sir John Birkenhead or Berkenhead (''c''.1617 – 4 December 1679) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

writer and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, imprisoned several times during the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

for his obtrusive

royalism A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gover ...

. Birkenhead was the supposed son of Randall Birkenhead (''c''.1580 – 1636) and Margaret Middleton (d. 1669). The parish register of Witton-cum-Twambrooks records a baptism for John Birkenhead, son of Randall, in but an 1869 note next to the entry claims it is "Fictitious". He was educated at Witton Grammar School, Northwich. He proceeded to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and was a fellow of All Souls' from 1639 to 1648. Birkenhead began producing England's first official news-book ''

Mercurius Aulicus ''Mercurius Aulicus'' was one of the "most important early newspapers" in England, famous during the English Civil War for its role in Royalist propaganda. Creation The ''Mercurius Aulicus'' newspaper originated during the English Civil War f ...

'' in 1643. The principal writer was

Peter Heylin Peter Heylyn or Heylin (29 November 1599 – 8 May 1662) was an English ecclesiastic and author of many polemical, historical, political and theological tracts. He incorporated his political concepts into his geographical books ''Microcosm ...

but Birkenhead brought

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

, slanders and incisive polemics which the parliamentary party found difficult to rebuff. His loyalty to the royalist party was rewarded on the

restoration of the monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

when he was made licenser of the press and joint editor, with Henry Muddiman, of the new official news-book ''Mercurius Publicus''. His contribution to journalism after the restoration was slight, concentrating more on a political career and being elected MP for Wilton,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in June 1661. He was knighted the following year and was a founding member of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. In 1664 he was sworn in as a Master of Requests, serving until his death. Birkenhead was described by

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England ...

in his

Brief Lives ''Brief Lives'' is a collection of short biographies written by John Aubrey (1626–1697) in the last decades of the 17th century. Writing Aubrey initially began collecting biographical material to assist the Oxford scholar Anthony Wood, who ...

as "exceedingly confident, witty, not very grateful to his benefactors, would lye damnably. He was of midling stature, great goggli eies, not of a sweet aspect." He is buried in an unmarked grave near the school door at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

Notes

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birkenhead, John 1679 deaths English male journalists Original fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Sir John Deane's College English MPs 1661–1679 White's Professors of Moral Philosophy Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Year of birth uncertain