John Dunning, 1st Baron Ashburton
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England
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lawyer
Lawyer
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and politician
Politician
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.
He was first noticed in English politics when he wrote a notice in 1762 defending the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
merchants against their Dutch
Netherlands
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rivals. He was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from 1768 onward. His career in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
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is most famous for his Commons motion in 1780 that "the influence of the crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished". He was created Baron Ashburton in 1782.
On 31 March 1780, Dunning married Elizabeth Baring (21 July 1744 – 23 February 1809), daughter of the late John Baring and his wife Elizabeth Vowler, and sister of Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet. They had two sons, of whom the elder died April 1783, and the younger son, Richard Barre Dunning (b. 16 September 1782; and announced on the 20th in the Exeter Flying Post), who succeeded to the title aged nearly 11 months. Lord Dunning himself died 18 August 1783, leaving a widow Elizabeth (who died 1809 aged 64) and a very young son, who succeeded in the barony.