Monday, 22 April 2013
124 George Glyn
Constituency : Kendal 1847-68
George was the son of a baronet from a family of rich bankers. He was educated at Westminster School. Glyn, Mills & Co was thought to be the largest private bank in Britain. They were intimately connected with the railways and George became chair of the North Midland Railway in 1836 ,the London and Birmingham Railway in 1837 and the London and North Western Railway in 1846. He was responsible for the introduction of through-ticketing on the railways. He was also involved in a Canadian railway venture , the Grand Trunk Railway. George became MP for Kendal in 1847 unopposed and never had to face a contest thereafter.
George was a frequent speaker in the House in the 1850s on railway and financial matters. Gladstone was known to consult him on financial matters.He was a staunch exponent of Free Trade.
George stood down in 1868 and was raised to the peerage as Baron Wolverton in 1869.
He died in 1873 aged 76. The Economist described him as " a man whose noble qualities of intelligence, public spirit, generosity and loyalty to truth enabled him to become one of the veritable leaders of an age full of intense activity and pregnant with far-reaching consequences".
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