789 Frederick Pennington

Constituency  : Stockport  1874-85

Frederick  took  over  from  John  Smith  as  a  Liberal  member  for  Stockport.

Frederick  was  the  son  of  a  Wigan  cotton  spinner  and  merchant. He  was  educated  at  a  private  school  in  Southport  and  in  Paris. He  was  involved  in  the  Anti-Corn  Law  League  and  helped  finance  it.  He  was  involved  in  East  India  for  many  years  but  largely  retired  from  business  in  1865. He  also  had  an  interest  in  a  Canadian  rail  company  and  a  station  in  British  Columbia  is  named  after  him. Frederick  was  an  advanced  Liberal  and  stood  for  West  Surrey   ( where  he  lived  ) in  1868.

Frederick  was  married  to  Margaret  Sharpe, a  leading  campaigner  for  female  emancipation. He  generously  funded  the  campaign  against  the  Contagious  Diseases  Acts.

The  Conservatives  took  both  Stockport  seats  in  1885.

He  died  in  1914  aged  95.