Harry Samuel

For the British barrister, see Harry Samuels.

The Right Honourable Sir Harry Samuel
Member of Parliament for Limehouse
In office 13 July 1895 – 12 January 1906
Preceded by	John Stewart Wallace
Succeeded by	William Pearce
Member of Parliament for Norwood
In office 15 January 1910 – 26 October 1922
Preceded by	George Bowles
Succeeded by	Walter Greaves-Lord
Personal details
Born	Harry Simon Samuel (1853-08-03)3 August 1853 Marylebone, London
Died	26 April 1934(1934-04-26) (aged 80) Monte Carlo, Monaco
Resting place	Golders Green Jewish Cemetery
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse	Rose Beddington
Children	4
Alma mater	St John's College, Cambridge
Occupation	Businessman

Sir Harry Simon Samuel PC (3 August 1853 – 26 April 1934) was an English Member of Parliament for Limehouse and then Norwood in London. He was an advocate of protection in trade and he campaigned against free trade during his political career.^[1]

Biography

Early life

Samuel was born at 40 Gloucester Place near Portman Square in Marylebone, London,^[2] the son of Horatio Simon Samuel, a cooper, and Henrietta Montefiore.^[1] He was educated at Eastbourne College and then St John's College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts.^[3][4]

Career

He became a partner in the firm of Montefiore & Company.^[1]

Politics

Samuel retired from business to enter politics with the Unionist party and, in 1889, he became a prospective candidate in St Pancras East. So as not to split the Conservative vote in 1892 Samuel stood in the 1892 election for the Conservative Party in the Limehouse constituency but the seat was won by the Liberal Party candidate, John Stewart Wallace, with a majority of 270.^[1]

In the 1895, he stood again and was elected as Member of Parliament for Limehouse with a majority of 590. During the election campaign he was the subject of Antisemitic comments from his Liberal-Labour opponent William Marcus Thompson.^[5] He was re-elected in 1900 with a majority of 538 but lost the seat in 1906 to Liberal William Pearce. In 1903, he had been appointed a Knight Bachelor.^[1][6]

In January 1910, he was elected back to parliament with a 1778 majority in the Norwood constituency, a seat he then held until he retired as an MP at the 1922 election. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 1916.^[1] He was also a Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Cooper's Company.^[4]

Personal life

In 1878, he married Rose Beddington. They had four children: three sons and one daughter. His daughter Nora married Percy de Worms (1873–1941).^[1]

He died in 1934 at Villa Alexandra in Monte Carlo aged 80. His memorial service was held at West London Synagogue.^[1]

References

1. "Obituary: Sir Harry Samuel – Strong Advocate Of Protection". The Times. 27 April 1934. p. 16.
2. London, England, Freedom of the City Admission Papers, 1681-1930
3. "Samuel, Harry Simon (SML871HS)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
4. "Samuel, Harry Simon". Jewish Encyclopedia. 2002. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
5. Hirshfield, Claire (1981). ""Reynolds's Newspaper" and the Modern Jew". Victorian Periodicals Review. 14 (1): 3–11. ISSN 0709-4698. JSTOR 20081959.
6. "No. 27630". The London Gazette. 29 December 1903. p. 8563.

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Stewart Wallace	Member of Parliament for Limehouse 1895–1906	Succeeded by William Pearce
Preceded by George Bowles	Member of Parliament for Norwood 1910 – 1922	Succeeded by Walter Greaves-Lord