Oliver Luke

Sir Oliver Luke (1574–c.1651) of Woodend, Cople and Hawnes, Bedfordshire was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England from 1614 to 1648.

Biography Luke was born at Cople, Bedfordshire, the son of Sir Nicholas Luke and his wife Margaret St John. He was educated at King's College, Cambridge and entered the Middle Temple in 1592 to study law. He was knighted in 1603 and succeeded his father in 1613.

In 1614, Luke was elected Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in the Addled Parliament. He was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1617. He was elected for succeeding parliaments until King Charles dispensed with parliament in 1629. He was subsequently elected for the Short Parliament in April 1640 and for the Long Parliament in November 1640. He remained a supporter of the parliamentary forces but was excluded under Pride's Purge in 1648.

Luke probably died around the age of 76 after he was excluded from the Long Parliament.

He had married Elizabeth Knightley, daughter of Sir Valentine Knightley and Anne Unton on 17 August 1599. He remarried by 1616, Maud, the daughter of William Trenchard of ‘Cutheridge’, Wiltshire. He had at least 3 sons and a daughter. His son Samuel Luke was also an MP.