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Sir John Birkenhead or Berkenhead (c.1617 – 4 December 1679) was a British political writer and journalist, imprisoned several times during the Commonwealth for his obtrusive royalism.
Birkenhead was the supposed son of Randall Birkenhead (c.1580 – 1636) and Margaret Middleton (d. 1669). The parish register of Witton-cum-Twambrooks records a baptism for John Birkenhead, son of Randall, in 1616 [O.S. 24 March 1615] but an 1869 note next to the entry claims it is "Fictitious".[1]
He was educated at Witton Grammar School, Northwich.[2] He proceeded to the University of Oxford, and was a fellow of All Souls' from 1639 to 1648.[3] Birkenhead began producing England's first official news-book Mercurius Aulicus in 1643. The principal writer was Peter Heylin but Birkenhead brought satire, slanders and incisive polemics which the parliamentary party found difficult to rebuff.
His loyalty to the royalist party was rewarded on the restoration of the monarchy when he was made licenser of the press and joint editor, with Henry Muddiman, of the new official news-book Mercurius Publicus. His contribution to journalism after the restoration was slight, concentrating more on a political career and being elected MP for Wilton, Wiltshire in June 1661. He was knighted the following year and was a founding member of the Royal Society. In 1664 he was sworn in as a Master of Requests, serving until his death.[4]
Birkenhead was described by John Aubrey in his Brief Lives as "exceedingly confident, witty, not very grateful to his benefactors, would lye damnably. He was of midling stature, great goggli eies, not of a sweet aspect."[5]
He is buried in an unmarked grave near the school door at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster.
Notes
- ^ Whitton Chapel vital register 1561-1678. fol. 65 recto – via FamilySearch.
- ^ Margaret Crum (1971). "Review". The Review of English Studies. NS 22 (85): 81–83. JSTOR 512036.
- ^ "Birkenhead, John (BRKT657J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "Masters of Requests". Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ Aubrey, John (1898). "John Birkenhead (1615-1679)". In Clark, Andrew (ed.). 'Brief Lives,' chiefly of Contemporaries, set down by John Aubrey, between the Years 1669 & 1696. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 104–106. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
Bibliography
- Thomas, Peter W. (1969). Sir John Berkenhead, 1617-1679: A Royalist Career in Politics and Polemics. Oxford: Clarendon Press (OUP).
6 Annotations
First Reading
Terry F • Link
Sir John Birkenhead (1617–4 December 1679), kt 1662, founding member of the Royal Society.
He was most notable as a political writer and journalist.
Birkenhead began producing *Mercurius Aulicus* in 1643. In communicating the affaires of Court, *Mercurius Aulicus* can claim to be Englands first regular newspaper, printed at Oxford and reprinted in London almost throughout the entire war. The principle writer was Peter Heylin but Birkenhead brought satire, slanders and incisive polemics which the parliamentary party found difficult to rebuff.
His loyalty to the royalist party was rewarded on the restoration of the monarchy when he was made licenser of the press and joint editor, with Henry Muddiman, of the new official news-book *Mercurius Publicus*.
His contribution to journalism after the restoration was slight, concentrating more on a political career and being elected MP for Wilton, Wiltshire in June 1661.
Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John…
Terry F • Link
mage of Mercurius Aulicus. Communicating the Intelligence and Affaires of the Court
7[6]-13[12] April [1645]
The British Library E.279.(8.)
Copyright ©2000, The British Library Board
http://www.bl.uk/popups/aulicus.h…
Pedro • Link
More on Berkenhead.
Antonia Fraser, King Charles II...
"When Sir John Berkenhead tried to avert the imposition of a tax on playhouses on the grounds that they had been of much service to the King, Sir John Coventry enquired cheekily whether he meant the men or the women players...?
Second Reading
Bill • Link
Sir John Berkenhead, F.R.S., a political author, held in some esteem, M.P. for Wilton, 1661, and knighted the following year, Master of the Faculty Office, and Court of Requests. Ob. 1679.
---Diary and correspondence of Samuel Pepys, the diary deciphered by J. Smith. 1854.
Bill • Link
BIRKENHEAD or BERKENHEAD, Sir JOHN (1616-1679), author of 'Mercurius Aulicus'; M.A. Oriel College, Oxford, 1639: probationer-fellow, All Souls' College, 1640; devised and mostly wrote ' Mercurius Aulicus,' the weekly journal of royalists at Oxford, 1642-5; in exile with Prince Charles, 1648; probably knighted at St. Germains, 1649: D.C.L., 1661; M.P. for Wilton; member of Royal Society; one of masters of requests; published satirical poems.
---Dictionary of National Biography: Index and Epitome. S. Lee, 1906.
Bill • Link
Sir John Berkenhead, a poor alehouse-keepers son, got by lying, to be one of the masters of the request and faculty office; in boons 3000l.
---A Seasonable Argument ... for a New Parliament. Andrew Marvell, [1677] 1776.