| Benjamin Tasker Sr. | |
| Order: | 10th Governor of Restored Proprietary Government |
| Term Start: | 1752 |
| Term End: | 1753 |
| Predecessor: | Samuel Ogle |
| Successor: | Horatio Sharpe |
| Birth Place: | Calvert County, Maryland, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | St. Anne's Churchyard |
| Children: | 10 |
Benjamin Tasker Sr. (– June 19, 1768) was the 21st Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1752 to 1753.[1] He also occupied a number of other significant colonial offices, including, on various occasions, being elected Mayor of Annapolis.
Benjamin Tasker was born around 1690 in Calvert County, Maryland, to Rebecca Isaacs (née Brooke) and Thomas Tasker.[2] Tasker became a naval officer at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1719 and served until 1742. He also served in the municipal and provincial government as: member and president of the Governor's Council, 1722–1768; member of the Lower House of the Maryland Legislature, 1715–1717, 1720–1722; member of the Upper House, 1722–1766, 1768; President of the Upper House, 1734–1766, 1768; Annapolis alderman, 1720, 1754–1766; Mayor of Annapolis, 1721–1722, 1726–1727, 1747–1748, 1750–1753, 1756–1757; President of the Council in 1752; acting governor of Maryland, 1753.
In October 1731, Tasker was one of the founders of the Baltimore Ironworks Company.[2]
In 1740, Governor Samuel Ogle was dispatched to England following England's declaration of war against Spain. He left Tasker with his power of attorney and in addition "the task of supervising the construction of a new house at Belair."[3]
Tasker married Ann Bladen, daughter of William Bladen Attorney-General of Maryland, in on July 31, 1711.[2] [1] They had ten children:
Tasker died on June 19, 1768, in Annapolis. He was buried in St. Anne's Churchyard in Annapolis.[2] [8] His tombstone reads:
Benjamin Tasker Middle School, in Bowie, Maryland, is named after him.