1120 John Rigby

Constituency : Wisbech 1885-6,  Forfarshire  1892-4

John took  the  new  seat  of  Wisbech.

John  was  from  Runcorn. He  was  educated  at  Liverpool  College  and  Cambridge. He  became  a  barrister. In  1875  he became  junior  counsel  to  the  Treasury.

 John's  maiden  speech  was  a  long-winded  peroration  supporting  the  Home  Rule  Bill .

John  was  defeated  in  1886. He  switched  to  Scotland  in  1892 and  won  at  Forfarshire ,unseating  the  Liberal  Unionist  James  Barclay. Gladstone  appointed  him  Solicitor-General  and  he  was  knighted.  He  was  heavily  involved  in  the  debates  on  the  second  Home  Rule  Bill  where  the Tories  kept  throwing  up  constitutional  problems  for  "Rigby" to  unpick; his  good  grace  and  humour  in  dealing  with  them  made  him  very  popular. The  Illustrated  London  News    said  he  "combines  the  geniality  of  an  ocean  skipper  with  the  unction  of  a  Methodist  divine, a  unique  association  which  accounts  for  much  of  his  popularity". He  was  then  very  briefly  Attorney-General.

In  1894  John  became  a  Lord  Justice  of  Appeal  and  thereby  resigned  his  seat. He  served  in  the  Court  of  Appeal  until  he  retired  in  1901. By  that  time  John  had  suffered  a  fall  which  affected  his  health.

He  died  in  1903  aged  69.