Alfred Giles (3 October 1816 – 1895) was a British

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1878 and 1892. Giles was born in London, the second son of

Francis Giles Francis Giles (1787–1847) was a canal engineer and surveyor who worked under John Rennie and later became a railway engineer. Works and appointments * Kent & Sussex Junction Canal 1811 – with Netlam Giles surveyed the route as part of Jo ...

canal builder and railway engineer and his wife Mary Ann Wyer, daughter of Samuel Wyer of Birmingham. He was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and became a civil engineer, constructing railways and dock works in Britain and overseas. He was consulting Engineer to Southampton Dock Co., chairman of Union Steamship Co. and a director of Commercial Union Fire and Life Assurance Co. Giles was also created a

Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

King Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He lived in

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

.. Giles was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, first winning his seat in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

, sitting as a

. He lost his seat at the 1880 General Election but regained it in another by-election in

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

. He retained his seat at the

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

and 1886 General Elections but was defeated in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

by the Liberal Party's Francis Evans. Giles served as president of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

from May 1893 to May 1894.. Giles married Jane Emily Coppard, daughter of John Coppard of Hastings in 1838. Their son

Charles Tyrrell Giles Sir Charles Tyrrell Giles King's Counsel, KC (2 February 1850 – 16 January 1940), was a British lawyer and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who represented Wisbech (UK Parliament constituency), Wisbech. Giles was the son of A ...

was a lawyer and politician. They also had a daughter, Mary.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giles, Alfred 1816 births 1895 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers British civil engineers Engineers from London Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog People from Godalming