Sir Roger North (18 February 1577 – 17 June 1651) 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 1621 and 1648. North was the son of Sir Henry North of Mildenhall, Suffolk and his wife, Mary Knevit, daughter of Richard Knevit, John Burke, John Bernard Burke ''A genealogical and heraldic history of the extinct and dormant baronetcies''
/ref> the grandson of Sir William Knyvett (d. 1515). He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on 16 June 1618.Knights of England
/ref> In 1621, North was elected Member of Parliament for

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

. He was then elected MP for

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

in 1624. In 1625, he was re-elected for Eye and retained the seat in the 1626 and 1628 elections. He sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In April 1640, North was re-elected MP for Eye in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

. He was re-elected MP for Eye in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

in November 1640 and sat until 1648 when he was excluded under

Pride's Purge Pride's Purge is the name commonly given to an event that took place on 6 December 1648, when soldiers prevented members of Parliament considered hostile to the New Model Army from entering the House of Commons of England. Despite defeat in the ...

. North died at the age of 74 on 17 June 1651.

Marriages

North married, firstly, Elizabeth Gilbert, daughter of Sir John Gilbert of

Great Finborough Great Finborough is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England; about south west of Stowmarket and near one of the sources of the River Gipping. It has two schools, a pub and an active church. In ...

, Suffolk and had two sons and a daughter. Elizabeth died on 29 November 1612. He married, secondly, Thomasine, daughter of Thomas Clence of Holbrook. His son,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, succeeded him and became a

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:North, Roger 1577 births 1651 deaths People from Eye, Suffolk Knights Bachelor English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648