977 Richard Martin

Constituency : Tewkesbury  1880-85,  Droitwich  1892-1906 ( Liberal  Unionist )

Richard  retained  Tewkesbury  for  the  Liberals  after  William  Price  was  thrown  out  on  petition.

Richard  was  from  a  family  of  bankers, some  of  whom  had  held  the  seat  before  him. He  was  educated  at  Harrow  and  Oxford. He  helped  found  the  British  North  Borneo  Company  and  the  Institute  of  Bankers. He  stood  for  Worcestershire  East  (1868 ) and  City  of  London  ( 1880 ). He  travelled  to  America  in  1880.

Richard's  first  speech  was  in  favour  of  the  Irish  Coercion  Bill  refuting  the  suggestion  that  the  majority  of  Americans  favoured  the  Irish  cause.

In  1885  when  Tewkesbury  became  a  county  division  instead  of  a  borough   Richard  stood  unsuccessfully  for  Chelmsford. Tewkesbury  remained  a  Tory  seat  ever  after.

In  1886  Richard  contested  Ashburton  as  a  Liberal  Unionist. He  got  back  in  for  Droitwich  in  1892.

Richard  was  made  a  baronet  in  1905  and  stood  down  the  following  year.

Richard  was  President  of  the  Royal  Statistical  Society  from  1906  to  1907. He  was  interested  in  photography , architecture  and  agriculture.

He  died  in  1916  aged  78.