1591 Thomas Ferens

Constituency : Kingston-upon-Hull  East  1906-18

Thomas  took  Hull  East  from  the  Tories. He  gave  a  sovereign  to  all  his  employees  to  celebrate.

Thomas  was  born  in   County  Durham. His  father  was  a  flour  miller  and  he  started  work  as  a  clerk  on  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway. He  was  largely  self-taught. In  1868  he  left  Stockton  for  a  clerical  post  at  Reckitt &  Sons  in  Hull. The  firm  was  already  a  successful  producer  of  household  goods  but  Thomas  moved  quickly  through  the  ranks  and  became  a  director  in  1888  when   it  became  a  private  joint  stock  company.  He  oversaw  its  branching  into  pharmaceuticals  and  became  chairman. He  was  a  Wesleyan  Methodist   and  Sunday  school  tutor. He  stood  for  Hull  East  in  1906.

Thomas  was  a  member  of  the  Inter-Parliamentary  Union  before  the  War. He  was   a  supporter  of  female  suffrage. He  was  concerned  with  the  trafficking  of  women  in  the  colonies. He  was  a  teetotaller  and  in  1913  became  treasurer  of  the  United  Kingdom  Alliance. .

Thomas  was  defeated  by  the  couponed  Conservative  Charles  Murchison  who  attacked  him  as  a  "Little  Englander"  who  had  wanted  to  reduce  the size  of  the  navy  before  the  war. Thomas  vowed  never  to  stand  for  Parliament  again.

Thomas  was  an  active  supporter  of  the  League  of  Nations. In  1923  he  joined  with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  launching  the  National  United  Campaign  of  the  Churches  for  temperance.

Thomas  was  a  lifelong  philanthropist. He  donated  the  land  for  the  Ferens  Art  Gallery  i  Hull  which  opened  in  1927. He  donated  money  for  schools  all  over  the  country. He  is  the  founder  of  Hull  University  which  opened  in  1929. He  consistently  refused  honours.

He  died  in  1930  aged  83. His  adopted  son  Till  stood  for  the  Liberals  at  Gainsborough  in  1935.