John Darker (c. 1722 – 8 February 1784) was a British merchant and 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 ...

between 1776 and 1784. Darker was the son of John Darker and was born at Stoughton, Leicestershire. His father was in business as a hop-merchant in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

by 1749. Darker himself joined the firm shortly afterwards and succeeded his father in 1759. He remained in business until about 1773 and built up a fortune, acquiring property in Gayton, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. In 1760 he was appointed Treasurer of

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

. He married Mary Parker, daughter of John Parker of Retford, Nottinghamshire. In 1766 Darker was elected Member of Parliament for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

on the corporation interest at a contested by-election. In the 1768 general election he stood again at Leicester as a corporation candidate, but was defeated in a fierce contest. He became a

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

on 5 May 1768. having become a Fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

in 1766. In the 1774 general election he was returned unopposed for Leicester on a compromise between the corporation and the independent interest. He was unopposed again in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

. Although he is only recorded as having spoken only once in the House, he was very active in all parliamentary committees relating to trade and commerce. Darker died on 8 February 1784 and was buried in the church of

St Bartholomew-the-Less St Bartholomew the Less is an Anglican church in the City of London, associated with St Bartholomew's Hospital, within whose precincts it stands. Once a parish church, it has, since 1 June 2015, been a chapel of ease in the parish of St Barth ...

. He left two daughters, Sarah Johanna who married Sir George Shuckburgh, Bt MP and Elizabeth who married firstly Joseph Nash of London, and secondly

Edward Loveden Loveden Edward Loveden Loveden (ca. 1749/1751–1822) was an English Member of Parliament (MP), sometimes described as a Whig but often not voting with that party. Life The date of birth of Edward Loveden Loveden, whose birthname was Edward Love ...

MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darker, John 1784 deaths People from Stoughton, Leicestershire 18th-century British businesspeople Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Year of birth uncertain 18th-century British merchants