Fairfax William Cartwright (14 May 1823 – 2 February 1881) was an academic, soldier 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. ...

from 1868 to 1881. Cartwright was the eldest son of Lieutenant-General William Cartwright of Flore House,

Weedon, Northamptonshire Weedon Bec, usually just Weedon, is a village and parish in West Northamptonshire, England. It is close to the source of the River Nene. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,706. Geography Weedon is around southeast of ...

and his wife Mary Anne Jones, only daughter and heiress of Henry Jones. He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

where he graduated B.A. in 1844, and subsequently became a

Fellow of All Souls All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. He served in the Austrian Army for a while, and was later major in the 2nd Hussars

British German Legion The British German Legion (or Anglo-German Legion) was a group of German soldiers recruited to fight for Britain in the Crimean War. It is not to be confused with the King's German Legion, which was active during the Napoleonic Wars. Great Britain ...

which was raised for service in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. He was a J.P. and a Deputy Lieutenant of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. At the 1868 general election, Cartwright was elected as

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 ...

(MP) for

South Northamptonshire South Northamptonshire was, from 1974 to 2021, a district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council was based in the town of Towcester, first established as a settlement in Roman Britain. The population of the Local Authority District Council in ...

and held the seat until his death in 1881, unmarried. He was one of the most active campaigners for police superannuation.Carolyn Steedman ''Policing the Victorian community: the formation of English provincial police forces, 1856-80'' Routledge, 1984

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Fairfax William 1823 births 1881 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 People from Weedon Bec Deputy Lieutenants of Northamptonshire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom