John Knight the Elder

Sir John Knight (24 November 1613 – 16 December 1683) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1681.

Knight was the son of George Knight of Bristol and his wife Martha Cole, daughter of Thomas Cole.^[1]

In 1660, Knight was elected Member of Parliament for Bristol in the Convention Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Bristol in 1661 for the Cavalier Parliament and sat until he lost his seat in 1681.^[2] He was Sheriff of Bristol in 1663^[1] and was knighted on the visit of the King to Bristol on 5 September 1663.^[3] He became Mayor of Bristol in 1670. His Sunday recreation when mayor was hunting down Quakers, non-conformists and catholics. In his time as mayor over 920 people were fined for indulging in liberty of conscience.^[1]

Knight died at the age of 71

Knight married Anne Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith of Long Ashton Somerset. His only son John was also MP for Bristol.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d W R Williams Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 6)
^ Knights of England

Persondata
Name	Knight, John
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1612
Place of birth
Date of death	16 December 1683
Place of death