Laurence Whitaker

Laurence Whitaker (c. 1578 – 15 April 1654) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1653.

Whitaker was born in Somerset. He matriculated from St John's College, Cambridge in around 1593 and was awarded BA in 1597 and MA in 1600. He was incorporated at Oxford University in 1603 and admitted at Middle Temple on 24 March 1614. He was secretary to Sir Edward Philips, Master of the Rolls.

In 1624 Whitaker was elected Member of Parliament for Peterborough. He was re-elected in 1625, 1626 and 1628 and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. In 1624 he became clerk extraordinary of the Privy Council and held the post until 1641 when he was imprisoned.

In November 1640, Whitaker was elected MP for Okehampton in the Long Parliament. He was a diarist of the Long Parliament.

Whitaker died at the age of 76 and asked to be buried at St Giles in the Fields.