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Sharp was descended from the Sharps of Romsey, Hampshire. He was once described as becoming possibly the most popular man in London of his time, having started life humbly as a hatter on Fish St Hill. Apart from succeeding conspicuously in business and serving as a Whig MP, he became warden of the Fishmongers Company, a Fellow of the Royal Society and he belonged to countless London Clubs. He was an ardent Dissenter and played an important role as one of London's 'Deputies'. He was the driving force behind the founding of the London Institution - a forerunner of London University. He never married but the biography of his adoptive daughter, Maria Kinnaird, was written by Kegan Paul (Maria Drummond - A Sketch). A copy of Sharp's rare biography (Conversation Sharp, the Biography of a London Gentleman, 1759-1835, in Letters Prose and Verse)is held at the British and London Libraries.

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