Edward Langton (2 January 1828 – 5 October 1905) was an Australian businessman and politician,

Treasurer of Victoria The Treasurer of Victoria is the title held by the Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more trans ...

in 1868 and 1872–1874. Langton was born in Gravesend, Kent, England, the youngest son of David Elland Langton, a butcher, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Payne. Langton migrated to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1852, aged 24, becoming involved in politics in the late 1850s. Langton unsuccessfully contested the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

seats of Collingwood in 1859 and 1861,

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of ...

in 1861, East Bourke Boroughs in 1864, and Dundas in 1865. Langton eventually had electoral success and represented

from February 1866 until December 1867. Then from May 1868 to April 1877 he represented West Melbourne. On 6 May 1868 Langton, who was a staunch Conservative as well as a Free-trader, became

in Charles Sladen's short-lived Ministry, and occupied the same post, with the additional office of

Postmaster-General of Victoria The Postmaster-General of Victoria was a former ministry portfolio within the Cabinet of Victoria. The position was created in 1857, shortly after the colony separated from New South Wales. Upon Federation, Section 51(v) of the Constitution o ...

, in the

James Francis James Goodall Francis (9 January 1819 – 25 January 1884), Australian colonial politician, was the 9th Premier of Victoria. Francis was born in London, and emigrated to Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania) in 1847, where he became a busin ...

Government, from 10 June 1872 to 31 July 1874, when he resigned with his colleagues. Langton has written much for the Melbourne press, and was one of the earliest proprietors of the ''Spectator'', a free trade organ started in 1865. He was secretary of the Free Trade League of Victoria from its commencement until 1866, was an honorary member of the Cobden Club from 1874, and was a trustee and treasurer of the Melbourne Public Library and Museum. Langton was again unsuccessful in contesting Castlemaine February 1880, West Melbourne in 1886, Toorak in 1892 and 1894, and East Melbourne in 1897. Langton died of pneumonia on 5 October 1905 in his home in

Toorak, Victoria Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area, on Boonwurrung Land. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 20 ...

;survived by a daughter and one of his two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langton, Edward 1828 births 1905 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Treasurers of Victoria People from Gravesend, Kent English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Deaths from pneumonia in Victoria (Australia) 19th-century Australian businesspeople