Sir John Simeon, 3rd Baronet (5 February 1815 - 21 May 1870) was a British politician and naval officer.[1] He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Simeon, 2nd Baronet, and initially pursued a naval career before being returned for the Isle of Wight in 1847 as a Liberal Member of Parliament.
In 1851 he converted to Catholicism, and resigned hs seat in Parliament through appointment as Steward of the Manor of Northstead on 5 May 1851,
"out of a delicate instinct of honour towards those who had elected him while he was a member of the Anglican Church — believing that he had no right to suppose them to be indifferent to the change he had made."[2]
He was elected again for the same constituency in 1865, for a time serving as the only Roman Catholic Member of Parliament from an English constituency. [1]
His last political act, on 8 April 1870, was to speak in Parliament against a measure proposed by Charles Newdigate Newdegate for the state inspection of convents, despite being seriously ill at the time. Bursting a blood-vessel in his throat, he set off on a journey to Switzerland to recover his health but died en route while in Freiburg.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William à Court-Holmes |
Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight 1847–1851 |
Succeeded by Edward Dawes |
| Preceded by Charles Cavendish Clifford |
Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight 1865–1870 |
Succeeded by Alexander Baillie-Cochrane |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by Richard Godin Simeon |
Baronet of Grazeley, Berkshire 1870 – 1909 |
Succeeded by John Stephen Barrington Simeon |