Frank James (8 November 1821 – 23 March 1924) was a British businessman,

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and Conservative politician. He was the fifth son of John James of Walsall,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. He was educated at Handsworth, near Birmingham and

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. By 1885 he was living at Aldridge, near Walsall and was proprietor of James's Foundry, Walsall and President of the Walsall Chamber of Commerce. He was also chairman of the South Staffordshire Waterworks Company and a director of the Staffordshire Joint Stock Banking Company. James was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and deputy lieutenant for Staffordshire, and served as vice-chairman of the Staffordshire Quarter Sessions. When Staffordshire County Council was formed to take over the local government functions of the justices in 1889, he became a member, and was chairman and vice-chairman before retiring from the council in 1901. He had a very brief parliamentary career as Member of Parliament for Walsall. After unsuccessfully contesting the seat for the Conservatives at the general election of 1885 and a by-election in 1891, he was elected at the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in July 1892. A petition to overturn the result of the election was made, however, alleging gross bribery, treating and general corruption. James was unseated in November when his son, who was his election agent, admitted to paying for the printing of cards to be displayed in his supporters' hats. This was found to be in breach of section 16 of the

Corrupt Practices Act 1883 The Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict c. 51) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was a continuation of policy to make voters free from the intimidation of landowners a ...

, which forbade payment for ''cockades, ribbons, or other marks of distinction''. James was a prominent freemason. He joined St Matthew's Lodge, Walsall in 1844, and was Provincial Grand Secretary of Staffordshire Province from 1860 to 1865, and Deputy Provincial Master in 1873. At the time of his death he was believed to be the oldest and longest-serving mason in the world, and possibly the first British member of parliament to have reached the age of 100. James was twice married: to Ann Wells Ingram of Birmingham in 1844, and to Mary Holland in 1859. Frank James died at his home at Penkridge, Staffordshire in March 1924, aged 102.

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* 1821 births 1924 deaths Alumni of King's College London British centenarians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 English centenarians Men centenarians People from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall English justices of the peace Deputy Lieutenants of Staffordshire {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1820s-stub