Sir Christopher Thomas Needham (30 August 1866 – 29 April 1944) was a British businessman and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician. Needham was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. He was to maintain a link with the university throughout his life, becoming a governor in 1908, a chairman of the council from 1936 to 1941.''Obituary'', The Times, 1 May 1944, p.4 He became a partner in the family company, John Needham and Sons of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, iron and steel merchants.''Progress of the General Election'', The Times, 5 December 1910, p.9 He stood as Liberal candidate for the constituency of Manchester South West at the January 1910 general election, but was defeated by the

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 ...

Arthur Colefax Sir Henry Arthur Colefax, KBE, KC (9 July 1866 – 19 February 1936) was a British patent lawyer and Liberal Unionist politician. Colefax was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, and was the son of J S Colefax, a woollen merchant. He was initially educ ...

. The position was reversed at the ensuing election in December, when Needham unseated Colefax to become a

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 ...

. He held the seat until 1918. After leaving parliament, Needham was knighted in 1919, and expanded his business interests. He became chairman of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company in 1922. He remained chairman of the company (renamed the

District Bank The Manchester and Liverpool District Bank was formed in 1829 and it became one of the leading provincial joint stock banks; its name was shortened to District Bank in 1924. The Bank was acquired by the National Provincial Bank in 1962 but kept ...

) until 1936. He was chairman of the National Boiler and General Insurance Company and was also a director of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

, the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...

and the

Alliance Assurance The Alliance Assurance was formed in 1824. It merged with Sun Insurance in 1959 to form Sun Alliance Insurance. History The Alliance was formed by Sir Moses Montefiore and Nathan Mayer Rothschild (married to sisters) with the intention of crea ...

company. Outside of business, he was chairman of

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

from 1941 to 1943. He married Florence White in 1902, and they had one daughter before her death in 1905. Sir Christopher Needham died at his home in

West Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

in 1944, aged 77.

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* 1866 births 1944 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 Knights Bachelor Alumni of the University of Manchester People educated at Manchester Grammar School {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub