Sir John Dryden, 2nd Baronet (c. 1580-c. 1658) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

  in two periods between 1640 and 1654.

Dryden was the son of Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet

Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet

Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1624.Erasmus Dryden was the son of John Dryden of Canons Ashby House, Northamptonshire. His mother, Elizabeth Cope, was the daughter and sole heiress of Sir John Cope, through whom the Drydens inherited...

 and his wife Frances Wilkes, daughter of William Wilkes of Hadnel, Warwickshire. In 1632, he succeeded to the baronetcy

Dryden Baronets

There have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Dryden, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of Great Britain...

 on the death of his father. He was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire

This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire.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...

 in 1634.
In November 1640, Dryden was elected 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,...

 for Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)

The county constituency of Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands of England was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832 and was represented in...

 in 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 1654, he was re-elected MP for Northamptonshire in the First Protectorate Parliament

First Protectorate Parliament

The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....

.

Dryden married firstly Priscilla Quarles, daughter of James Quarles of Romford Essex, and secondly Anne Parvis, daughter of Henry Parvis of Ruckholts, Essex. He had no children from his first two wives. He married thirdly Honor Bevile, daughter of Sir Rober Bevile, of Chesterton, and by her had a family. His eldest son Robert succeeded to the Baronetcy. Dryden was an uncle of the poet John Dryden

John Dryden

John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...

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