1032 Archibald Corbett

Constituency  : Glasgow  Tradeston  1885- 1911

Archibald  was  the  first  MP  for  Glasgow  Tradeston  by a  slim  majority  over  the  Conservatives.

Archibald  was  the  son  of  a  Glasgow  merchant  and  philanthropist.He  was  educated  at  the  Glasgow  Academy.  He  travelled  widely  and  studied  sculpture  for  a  time  before  becoming  a  property  developer, building  on  his  father's  estates. He  contested  North  Warwickshire  in  a  by-election  in  1884.

Archibald  joined  the  Liberal  Unionists  in  1886. In  19808  he  crossed  the  floor  of  the  house  and  sat  with  the  Liberals,  defending  his  seat  successfully  as  an  Independent  Liberal  against  both  Liberal  and  Conservative  challenges. By  the  December  election  he  was  an  official  Liberal  once  more  and  saw  off  a  Liberal  Unionist.

In  1901  Archibald  bought  an  estate  in  Ayrshire  and   donated  his  former  home  to  the  people  of  Glasgow.  He  developed  an  estate  in  Essex  which  had  no  pub  because  Archibald  was  a  committed  temperance  reformer.

Archibald  stood  down  in  1911  and  became  Baron  Rowallan.

He  died  in  1933  aged  76.