Frederick Rutherfoord Harris

Frederick Rutherfoord Harris (1 May 1856 – 1 September 1920) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) between 1900 and 1906.

Harris was born in

Madras, India, where his father, George Anstruther Harris, was a Supreme Court Judge, and was educated at Leatherhead Grammar School, in Baden, and at the University of Edinburgh

, where he studied medicine.

In 1882 he began practising as a doctor in

Reform Committee dated in such a way as to falsely suggest that Jameson was responding to an immediate request for help. "The cloud of this act of deception," the Times later wrote, "was heavy over Harris for the rest of his life".^[1]

Moving to England, he was first elected as MP for Monmouth Boroughs in the 1900 general election, winning the seat from the Liberal party, but was unseated after a lawsuit alleging electoral irregularities. Although he was disqualified by the court from standing again in the constituency for seven years, the judges insisted that no blame should attach to Harris personally. A local committee subsequently raised nearly a thousand pounds for a gift on his behalf.^[2]

He was elected MP for Dulwich at a by-election in 1903, but sat for only three years before resigning to return to South Africa. He died in Eastbourne at the age of 64.

He was a descendant of General

Battle of Seringapatam, and a cousin of Lord Harris, the cricketer. In 1900 he married Florence Ling. She hanged herself three months after his death, apparently overcome by grief.^[3]

References

^ The Times, 3 September 1920
^ The Times, 12 December 1903
^ The Times, 22 December 1920

The Times, 16 December 1903
Obituary, The Times, 3 September 1920

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Frederick Rutherfoord Harris

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Albert Spicer	Member of Parliament for Monmouth Boroughs 1900 – 1901	Succeeded by Joseph Lawrence
Preceded by John Blundell Maple	Member of Parliament for Dulwich 1903 – 1906	Succeeded by Bonar Law

[1] The Times, 3 September 1920

[2] The Times, 12 December 1903

[3] The Times, 22 December 1920

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