Henry Francis Compton (16 January 1872 – 11 April 1943) was a British

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. He was elected

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

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

at a by-election in 1905, but only weeks later lost the seat to the Liberals at the 1906 general election. Compton was born in 1872, the son of Henry Compton and Harriet Granville, of Minstead Manor House,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

. He served as a Magistrate and as an officer in the 4th Volunteer Battalion

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regi ...

. His grandfather and uncle had also been Members of Parliament, the latter sitting for the New Forest Constituency between 1885 and 1892. Compton was selected as Conservative candidate in succession to the sitting MP John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, who had succeeded to the Peerage as Baron Montagu of Beaulieu. There had not been a contested election in the seat since 1892, but the Liberals fielded Sir Robert Hobart. After a closely fought contest, Compton was elected on 6 December 1905 with a majority of 199 votes. However, the Conservative government had collapsed the previous day, and the new Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman would soon call a

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 ( ...

. As Parliament was not sitting at the time, Compton was unable to take his seat. The following month, Henry Compton was defeated by Sir Robert Hobart by just 48 votes, thus becoming, after 46 days, the shortest-serving Member of Parliament whose tenure was not ended by death, and one of only a handful never to take their seats. Compton later served as Official

Verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

of the

. He died at

Lyndhurst, Hampshire Lyndhurst is a large village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Serving as the administrative capital of the New Forest, it is a popular tourist attraction, with many independent shops, art gallerie ...

in 1943, aged 71.''The Times'', 12 April 1943

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* 1872 births 1943 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire UK MPs 1900–1906 Royal Hampshire Regiment officers {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1870s-stub

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