Dudley Digges
| Sir Dudley Digges | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 19 May 1583 |
| Died | 18 March 1639 |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Kempe |
| Parent(s) |
Sir Thomas Digges Anne St Leger |
Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. He was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia Company of London.
Digges was the son of the mathematician Sir Thomas Digges of Digges Court, Barham, Kent and his wife Anne St Leger (died 1636), daughter of Warham St Leger. He matriculated at University College, Oxford on 18 July 1600 aged 17 and was awarded BA on 1 July 1601. He was knighted by James I at Whitehall on 29 April 1607.
In 1610 Digges was elected Member of Parliament for the newly enfranchised constituency of Tewkesbury. He was a friend of Henry Hudson and in 1610 he was one of those who fitted out Hudson for his last voyage. As a result, Digges' name was given to Digges Islands, at the mouth of Hudson Bay in Canada, and to Cape Digges, at the easternmost extremity of these islands. In 1614 Digges was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury to the Addled Parliament. He backed the explorations of William Baffin in 1615 and 1616, with several of the same group of "adventurers". In 1616 he completed his mansion of Chilham Castle, Kent.
Digges became a gentleman of the privy chamber in 1618. He was named ambassador to Muscovy in 1618–19 and Special Ambassador to Holland in 1620. In 1621, he was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury. He was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury in 1624, 1625 and 1626. In that parliament, he was active in the impeachment of the Duke of Buckingham during the crisis of 1626 that followed the aborted expedition to Cadiz, when Digges and Archbishop Abbot co-operated to co-ordinate the attacks in the Houses of Lords and Commons. Digges was for a time imprisoned in the Fleet Prison by order of the King, but was released on apologizing to the King, an act that John Eliot was unwilling to perform. In 1628 Digges was elected MP for Kent and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years.
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