Jacob Bright

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Thomas Bazley, William Romaine Callender, Hugh Birley
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Manchester South West
In office
1886–1895
Preceded byLord Frederick Spencer Hamilton
Succeeded byWilliam Johnson Galloway
Mayor of Rochdale
In office
1856–1857
Preceded byPost created
Succeeded byRobert T. Heape
Councillor for Rochdale
In office
1856–1857
Personal details
Born
Jacob Bright

26 May 1821
Ursula Mellor Bright
Children3
OccupationPolitician

The Rt Hon. Jacob Bright (26 May 1821 – 7 November 1899) was a British Liberal politician serving as Mayor of Rochdale and later Member of Parliament for Manchester.

Background

Bright was born at Green Bank near

Quaker and had established a cotton-spinning business at Fieldhouse. His elder brother, John Bright, was a radical politician, and his sister, Priscilla Bright McLaren, campaigned for women's rights.[1][2]

Jacob Bright was educated at the Friends School in York before entering the family business of John Bright & Brothers, cotton-spinners.[2] Bright and his brother Thomas managed the firm, and by 1885 the business had expanded into carpet manufacture.[3] He was also responsible for introducing the linotype machine to England.[1]

Career

Vanity Fair
in 1877.

Civic politics

Bright became involved in

radical politics and supported Chartism.[1] He was the first mayor of Rochdale on the town's incorporation as a municipal borough.[2] He stood for election in 1865 in Manchester. Although unsuccessful on his first attempt, he won a by-election in 1867.[2] The election was notable because Lilly Maxwell voted for Bright. This vote by a woman was later overturned.[4]

National politics

Bright held his seat at the general election in 1868. He lost his seat at the 1874 general election, but was returned to parliament at the by-election in 1876.[2] When the three-seat Parliamentary Borough of Manchester was divided into eight single-seat constituencies in 1885, Bright was selected as the Liberal candidate for the new Manchester South West constituency. He was defeated in 1885, but successful in the general election in 1886.[2] As a Member of Parliament, Bright was considered an "advanced radical". He was a peace campaigner and supported women's suffrage.[2]

The Bright memorial, St Georges Church, Esher

Bright remained as MP for South West Manchester until 1895. Upon retirement, Bright was sworn into the

Lord Rosebery.[2] Jacob Bright died at midnight on 7/8 November 1899, aged 78, at his residence, "Nunn's Acre", Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.[2] He was cremated without a funeral service. The central committee of the Society for Women's Suffrage passed a resolution recognising his contribution to the movement.[1] There is a memorial for Jacob and Ursula at St George's Church, Esher
.

Family

In 1855, Bright married

Ursula Mellor Bright, daughter of a Liverpool merchant and campaigner for women's rights. They had three children.[1]

References
  1. ^
    doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3418. Retrieved 10 October 2008. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Obituary, The Times, 9 November 1899, p.6
  3. ^ Biographies of Candidates, The Times, 25 November 1885, p.5
  4. ^ In Prise of ... Lily Maxwell, 19 March 2011, The Guardian, Retrieved 30 January 2016

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Thomas Bazley
Edward James
Thomas Bazley 1858–1880
Hugh Birley
from 1868 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
William Henry Houldsworth from 1880
John Slagg
1880–1885 		Constituency abolished
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Manchester South West
1886 – 1895 		Succeeded by
Civic offices
New post Mayor of Rochdale
1856–1857 		Succeeded by
Robert T. Heape
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