John Harington was an English courtier and politician.

Life

He was the son of James Harington (lawyer)

James Harington (lawyer)

Sir James Harington was a 16th century English public servant who fulfilled a number of legal, legislative and law enforcement duties and was knighted in 1565.-Public career:...

 and was knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

ed in 1584. He joined the Inner Temple

Inner Temple

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

 in 1558, and was MP

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,...

 for Rutland

Rutland (UK Parliament constituency)

Rutland was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Rutland. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1918, when it became part of the Rutland and Stamford constituency, along with Stamford in Lincolnshire...

 in 1571.

He was commissioner of the peace for Kesteven

Kesteven

The Parts of Kesteven are a traditional subdivision of Lincolnshire, England. This subdivision had long had a separate county administration , along with the other two parts, Lindsey and Holland.-Etymology:...

 from about 1559 to 1593, servant to Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...

 in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 1585, keeper of Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of the same name in Warwickshire, England. Constructed from Norman through to Tudor times, the castle has been described by architectural historian Anthony Emery as "the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant...

, Warwickshire, for Ambrose Dudley, Earl of Warwick

Earl of Warwick

Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...

 (1588-90), Sheriff of Warwickshire

High Sheriff of Warwickshire

The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 (1582-3), and knight of the shire (MP) for Warwickshire

Warwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Warwickshire was a parliamentary constituency in the Warwickshire in England. It returned two Members of Parliament , traditionall known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.-Boundaries and franchise:The...

 in 1586. He accompanied Mary, Queen of Scots, through Warwickshire on her way to Fotheringhay

Fotheringhay

Fotheringhay is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, six kilometres north east of Oundle and around west of Peterborough. It is most noted for being the site of Fotheringhay Castle which was razed in 1627...

 in Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

 1586, MP for Rutland in 1593 and 1601, Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 of Rutland and Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

 during the 1590s. He was also High Sheriff of Rutland

High Sheriff of Rutland

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Rutland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown: there has been a Sheriff of Rutland since 1129...

 in 1594,1598 and 1602.

Sir John Harington was created Baron Harington in July 1603 at the coronation of James I

James I of England

James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

, the first Baron Harington

Baron Harington of Exton

Baron Harington of Exton was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created for John Harington on 21 July 1603. It became extinct on the death of his son in 1614.-Barons Harington of Exton :*John Harington, 1st Baron Harington of Exton Baron Harington of Exton was a title in the Peerage of...

 of Exton

Exton, Rutland

Exton is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England.The village includes a tree-planted green overlooked by the Fox & Hounds pub....

, Rutland

Rutland

Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....

. He was made guardian of James' daughter, Elizabeth

Elizabeth of Bohemia

Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...

. The high cost of entertaining the Princess ruined him. As partial recompense Harington was granted a licence to mint the first copper farthings by the King. Princess Elizabeth married the Elector Palatine, Frederick V

Frederick V, Elector Palatine

Frederick V was Elector Palatine , and, as Frederick I , King of Bohemia ....

 to become the "Winter Queen". Lord Harington accompanied her to Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

, but died on his way back in 1613. After his death, the Exton estate

Exton Hall

Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England.It was the family seat of the family of Sir James Harington and later the Noel family, Earls of Gainsborough for almost four hundred years...

 was sold to pay his creditors, being purchased by Sir Baptist Hicks.

Marriage and children

His wife was Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Kelway.

He was succeeded by his son John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton

John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton

John Harington, 2nd Baron Harington of Exton was an English peer and politician. He was the Lord Lieutenant of Rutland and Baron Harington of Exton....

. Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford

Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford

Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford was a major aristocratic patron of the arts and literature in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras...

was his daughter.