1616 Henry Cotton

Constituency : Nottingham East  1906-10



Henry  took  Nottingham  East  from  the  Tories.

Henry  was  born  in  India  to  ex-pats  who  had  settled  there. He  went  to England  for  his  education  at  Magdalen College School  and  King's  College, London. He  then  took  and  passed  the  Indian  Civil  Service  Examinations. He  gradually  worked  his  way  up  the  ranks  to become  Chief  Commissioner  of  Assam  from  1896  to  1902. At  the  same  time  Henry  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Indian  Home  Rule and  in  1904  became  President  of  the  Indian  National  Congress. He  opposed  the partition  of  Bengal  and  invasion  of  Tibet.

Once  in  Parliament,  Henry  formed  a  radical pro-Indian  faction  and  wasn't  afraid  to  criticise  his  own  government's  actions. He  was  a  frequent  contributor  on  Indian  issues. He  edited  the  weekly  journal  India.

Henry was  in  poor  health   and  financial  difficulty  going  into  the  January  1910  election. He  was  defeated  by 152  votes.

Henry  was  married  to  Mary  Ryan , a photographer's  assistant  of  very  humble  origin.

He  died  in  1915  aged  70.