William Whitaker (MP)

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William Whitaker (c. 1580–1646) was an English lawyer and politician. He was the son of Henry Whitaker, who had been MP for Westbury in 1586. He studied at the Middle Temple and became the recorder of Shaftesbury in 1627. Whitaker first entered Parliament as the MP for Shaftesbury in 1624 and was re-elected in 1625. He returned to Parliament in 1640, sitting for Shaftesbury in the Short Parliament (April 1640) and in the Long Parliament from November 1640 until his death in 1646. In 1646 he helped establish Shaftesbury Grammar School. He married Honor Hooper, daughter of Thomas Hooper of Boveridge, and his son Henry Whitaker later became MP for Shaftesbury.