Sir John D'Oyly, 6th Baronet


Sir John Hadley D'Oyly, 6th Baronet was a politician in Great Britain. He was Member of Parliament for Ipswich from 1790 to 1796.

Early life

His father, Hadley D'Oyly, was rector of Wotton and Felixstowe. His mother was Henrietta Maynard Osborne, daughter of Reverend Henry Osborne, the Vicar of Thaxted, Essex. His father died when John was ten years old, only leaving debt as a legacy. His mother educated him herself until through the influence of Charles Bunbury, John entered the service of the East India Company in 1769 as a "writer", i.e. a junior clerical worker.

Career with the East India Company

However John progressed, becoming a Persian translator in 1775 for the EIC Army, a mercantile factor in 1776, Sheriff of Kolkata for 1779. In this year he married Diana Rochfort, widow of William Cotes of Calcutta and was appointed Resident for Murshidabad, whilst also becoming first a junior merchant and then a senior merchant with the EIC. However in 1785 his wife became ill and he took his family back to England with him.

Residency at Murshidabad

D'Oyly took over the residency at Murshidabad following the resignation of William Byam Martin in January 1780. He arrived that February with instructions from Warren Hastings, the Governor General of Bengal to encourage Mubarak Ali Khan, the Nawab of Bengal to adopt "effectual measures" to curb his spending which was greater than his income.

Career in England

He returned return to England in 1785 as a nabob with a fortune of over £100,000. He used some of this to settle his father's debts.

Return to India

His wife died on 6 September 1803, and John returned to India filling the post of collector of customs, at Kolkata. In 1807 he was appointed Postmaster General and salt agent for Bengal. He died in 1818 and was buried in the South Park Street Cemetery in Kolkata, India.

Arms