Family and Education

1st s. of Thomas Cooke of Hackney by his w. Margaret; bro. of James Cooke. unm. suc. fa. 1694. Kntd. 24 Jan. 1717.

Offices Held

Ld. of Trade 1714-d.; master, Mercers’ Co. 1716; sheriff of London 1716-7, alderman 1717.

Biography

Cooke was a considerable Turkey merchant like his brother James and his youngest brother Thomas, who later became a director and governor (1737-40) of the Bank of England. In 1713 he acquired considerable reputation for himself by giving evidence against the French commercial treaty at the bar of the House of Commons on behalf of the Levant Company, publishing a paper on the detrimental effects of the treaty on trade with the Near East.1 Appointed to the board of Trade and returned for Grampound at the accession of George I, he voted with the Administration in every recorded division. He died 2 Jan. 1721.

Ref Volumes: 1715-1754

Author: Eveline Cruickshanks

Notes

• 1. Chandler, v. 33-34; British Merchant (1743), i. pp. ix-x.