PARKER, George, Visct. Parker (c.1697-1764), of Shirburn Castle, Oxon.

Parker, who was endowed with a lucrative sinecure obtained for him by his father on becoming lord chancellor, entered Parliament as a Whig at a contested election in 1722. His only recorded speech was made on Sir William Yonge’s divorce bill, 5 Dec. 1724, when he spoke from personal knowledge of the lady.Knatchbull Diary. He did not stand again. A distinguished astronomer, he built an observatory at Shirburn and was largely responsible for the adoption of the ‘New Style’ calendar in 1752. He died 17 Mar. 1764.