Ruth Spalding, ed., The Diary of Bulstrode Whitelocke,1605-1675 (London: British Academy, 1990); ODNB (Article: 29297); Hannah Yip.
Ruth Spalding, ed., The Diary of Bulstrode Whitelocke,1605-1675 (London: British Academy, 1990); ODNB (Article: 29297)
Bulstrode Whitelocke was born in Fleet Street, London on 6 August 1605. He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke, a King's Bench judge. He transferred from Eton College to Merchant Taylors' School in 1615 and subsequently attended St John's College, Oxford, matriculating on 8 December 1620 at the age of fifteen. In 1626, he served as M.P. for Stafford. In 1640, Whitelocke was elected to the Long Parliament. During the English Civil Wars, he sided with Parliament. In 1648, he became a commissioner of the Great Seal. He served as ambassador to Sweden in 1653-1654, negotiating a treaty of friendship between England and Sweden. He was knighted in 1656. Finally, he became Lord Keeper in 1659, holding this post until 1661. Bulstrode Whitelocke died on 28 July 1675 at Chilton Park, Wiltshire, and was buried at Fawley Church, Buckinghamshire on 6 August. Three of his sermons were published posthumously by William Penn as Quench not the Spirit (London, 1711).