Edward Hales was the son of William Hales of Tenterden, Kent and Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of Paul Johnson of Fordwich. His paternal grandfather was Edward Hales, third son of John Hales (1469/70 – c1540), Baron of the Exchequer, and younger brother of Sir James Hales (c1500–1554), Justice of the Common Pleas, whose suicide, the subject of a lawsuit in Hales v.
He supported the Parliamentarian side in the English Civil War. Petit, is thought to be alluded to in the gravedigger"s speech in Shakespeare"s play, Hamlet. Hales was appointed High Sheriff of Kent for 1608-1609 and was created a baronet by King James I on 29 June 1611.
In April 1640 he was re-elected Member of Parliament for Queenborough for the Short Parliament.
He was elected again in November 1640 for the Long Parliament, and held the seat until 1648 when he was excluded under Pride"s Purge. Hales died in 1654 at the age of 78.
Short Parliament; Useless Parliament. 2nd Parliament of King Charles I]
In 1625, Hales was elected Member of Parliament for Queenborough for one parliament, and then in 1626 was elected Member of Parliament for Kent for one parliament.
