John Evelyn (Parliamentarian)

John Evelyn (c. 1617 – 1685) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1685. He is often confused with the diarist John Evelyn (1620–1706), to whom he was distantly related.

Evelyn was the son of John Evelyn of Godstone, Surrey, and his wife Elizabeth. He was elected Member of Parliament for Bletchingley in 1659 for the Third Protectorate Parliament. In 1660, he was elected MP for Gatton in the Convention Parliament. He was elected MP for Haslemere in 1661 for the Cavalier Parliament, sitting until 1679. Evelyn was elected MP for Reigate in 1685 and sat until his death later that year.

He held various local offices and served as a Justice of the Peace. He was a supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War and a moderate Whig in later political life.