Oliver St John, 1st Earl of Bolingbroke (1580?–1646), known from 1618 until 1624 as 4th Baron St John of Bletso, was an English nobleman and politician.

Life

St John was son and heir of Oliver St John, 3rd Baron St John of Bletso

Oliver St John, 3rd Baron St John of Bletso

Oliver St John, 3rd Baron St John of Bletso was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1588 until 1596 when he inherited the peerage as Baron St John of Bletso....

, by his wife Dorothy Reid, daughter and heiress of Sir John Rede or Reid, of Oddington

Oddington

Oddington may refer to:*Oddington, Gloucestershire, England*Oddington, Oxfordshire, England...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

.

St John was in parliament, elected as member for Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Bedfordshire was a United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency, which elected two Members of Parliament from 1295 until 1885, when it was divided into two constituencies under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885.-History:...

 in 1601, and again in 1603–4. In 1604 he served on the committee appointed to discuss the change in the royal title. On 3 June 1610 he was made knight of the Bath at the creation of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales

Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales was the elder son of King James I & VI and Anne of Denmark. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. Prince Henry was widely seen as a bright and promising heir to his father's throne...

. In September 1618 he succeeded his father; in the following year he sumptuously entertained 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...

 at his house, and in 1620 he took his seat in the House of Lords. On 28 December 1624 he was created Earl of Bolingbroke (a manor that had belonged to the Beauchamp family, from which he was descended). He took his seat on 22 June 1625.

In December 1626 St John refused to contribute to the forced loan; but in 1638-9 he contributed towards the expenses of the Bishops' War. On 28 August 1640 he signed the petition of the twelve peers, attributing the evils of the day to the absence of parliaments, and urging Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 to summon one. He remained with the Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

 in 1642 when Charles retired to York, and in February 1642-3 was named by the parliament lord lieutenant of Bedfordshire

Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire

This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire. Since 1711, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire.*William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1549–1551...

; in this capacity he took an active part in raising the militia and providing for the safety of the shire. In the same year he took the Solemn League and Covenant

Solemn League and Covenant

The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. It was agreed to in 1643, during the First English Civil War....

, and was appointed a lay member of the Westminster Assembly

Westminster Assembly

The Westminster Assembly of Divines was appointed by the Long Parliament to restructure the Church of England. It also included representatives of religious leaders from Scotland...

. On 10 November he was one of the commissioners named for the custody of the Great Seal

Great Seal of the Realm

The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...

. In 1645 he was excused attendance at the House of Lords, and he died in June or July 1646.

Family

St John married, in April 1602, Elizabeth, daughter of William Paulet and granddaughter of Sir George Paulet, brother of William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester

William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester

Sir William Paulet was an English Secretary of State and statesman who attained several peerages throughout his lifetime: Baron St John , Earl of Wiltshire , and Marquess of Winchester .-Family origins and early career in Hampshire:William Paulet was eldest son of Sir John Paulet of...

. His eldest son Oliver St John

Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso

Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1624 to 1629 and in the House of Lords from 1639. He died fighting in the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War....

 (1603–1642) predeceased him, having married Arabella, eldest daughter of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater

John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater

John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC was an English peer and politician.The son of the Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he was a Member of Parliament for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for Shropshire in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was Baron of the...

, but having no issue. The earldom of Bolingbroke consequently passed to Oliver St John (1634?-1688), eldest son of Paulet St John (died 1638), second son of the first earl. On the death of Paulet St John, 3rd Earl, unmarried, in 1711, the earldom became extinct, while the barony of St John of Bletso passed to Paulet St Andrew St John

Paulet St Andrew St John, 8th Baron St John of Bletso

Paulet St Andrew St John, 8th Baron St John of Bletso was an English peer. Andrew St John, his father, was the heir of his second cousin, the 3rd Earl of Bolingbroke; they both died in 1711, but Paulet St. John was born postumously and succeeded to the Barony when he was born...

, a descendant of Rowland, younger brother of the first earl of Bolingbroke.