William Jacob was an English physician and 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...

 briefly in 1679.

Jacob was a physician at Canterbury and was the subject of a ghost story. In September 1652 he treated a Henry Jacob for gangrene but his patient died and was buried in All Saints Church in Canterbury. Shortly afterwards Jacob was woken in his bed at night by the apparition of the deceased who "laid a cold hand on his face" and was recognisable by the distinctive cut of his beard. A maid also saw the apparition on another night. In 1670 Jacob rebuilt the Wincheap Gate in Canterbury, and was rewarded with a dinner paid for by the Corporation.

In February 1679, Jacob 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,...

 (MP) for Canterbury

Canterbury (UK Parliament constituency)

Canterbury is a county constituency which has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 1918. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

and held the seat until August 1679.