John Tucker (died 1779) was a British 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 1735 and 1778. Tucker was the son of Edward Tucker. He married Martha Gollop daughter of George Gollop of Berwick, Dorset. Tucker was Mayor of Weymouth in 1726 and 1732. He entered Parliament on 28 February 1735 as Member of Parliament for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis when

George Bubb Dodington George Bubb Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe (1691 – 28 July 1762) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1761. Family and early life Christened George Bubb, he was the eldest son of Jeremiah Bubb of Foy, H ...

decided to sit for Bridgwater. He succeeded his father in 1739 and like his father, he followed Dodington, joining him to take control of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis from Walpole in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 ** Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. ** Conventicle Act of 1741 is introduced in Denmark-Norway. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain ...

. Dodington was a general political fixer. In 1744 Tucker became cashier to

Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. T ...

. He did not stand in the 1747 general election because his post became incompatible with a seat in the Commons under the Place Act 1742. He lost his post in 1749, when Dodington joined the Prince of Wales faction. In about 1750 Egmont described him to Frederick as the 'absolute creature' of Dodington. In 1754 Tucker was Mayor of Weymouth and in the 1754 general election was elected MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis.He was appointed Paymaster of the Marines in 1757 and held the post until his death. He was re-elected MP for Weymouth in

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: In India, the armies of the Durrani Empire from Afghanistan, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, killing over 1 ...

. In May 1762, a seat was required for George Grenville, and Dodington undertook to persuade Tucker to vacate his seat. Tucker was unwilling and two months later July 1762 Dodington died and Tucker was left in undisputed control at Weymouth. Dodington left all his property at Weymouth and Melcombe Regis to Tucker. Tucker retained control until his death, giving two seats to Government at each general election. He was Mayor of Weymouth again in 1763. In

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Re ...

he was re-elected at Weymouth. He was appointed Keeper of the King's private roads in 1770 and held the post until his death. He was Mayor of Weymouth in 1772. In 1774 he was returned again in at Weymouth but gave up his seat in June 1778 in favour of his nephew Gabriel Steward. Tucker died on 9 October 1779.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, John (MP) British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Year of birth missing 1779 deaths