Charles Townshend Murdoch (27 May 1837 – 8 July 1898) was a banker 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 in ...

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. T ...

between 1885 and 1898. Murdoch was the son of James Gordon Murdoch, of Ashfold, Sussex and his wife Caroline Penelope Gambier daughter of Samuel Gambier and sister of Edward John Gambier. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and became a lieutenant in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Ri ...

. Later he was a captain in the South Middlesex Volunteers and adjutant of the Hertfordshire Yeoman Cavalry. He became a banker and was a partner in the firm of Ransom, Bouverie & Co and a director of Imperial Fire Insurance Co and London Life Association. He was also chairman of the Llanelly Railway and a J.P. for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

living at

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...

. At the 1885 general election, Murdoch was elected as the

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 o ...

(MP) for

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, holding the seat until his defeat 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 fo ...

. He regained the seat in

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

, and held it until his death aged 61 in 1898. His opponents in the elections were members of the Palmer family of Huntley & Palmers biscuits. Murdoch married Sophia Speke, daughter of W Speke of Ilminster, in 1862 and had several daughters.

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* 1837 births 1898 deaths People educated at Eton College Rifle Brigade officers Hertfordshire Yeomanry officers English bankers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1895–1900 19th-century English businesspeople {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub