Hugh Watt (1848 – 16 March 1921) was a Scottish merchant 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 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 1885 to 1892. His career ended in scandal and imprisonment.

Early life

Watt was the only son of John Watt, Sheriff of Ayrshire and his wife Jane Baird. He was educated at

Kilmarnock Academy Kilmarnock Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Chille Mheàrnaig''), formerly Kilmarnock Burgh School, is a state-funded secondary school in Kilmarnock, Scotland, currently located on Sutherland Drive in the New Farm Loch area of the town. The ...

and at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

. He was a merchant in London, Liverpool, and Glasgow and chairman of Maxim-Weston Electric Co. and the New Chile Mining Co. He was the author of "Lectures on Practical Electricity."Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref>

Political career

At the 1885 general election Watt was elected as the

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 the newly created Camlachie division of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and was re-elected in

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

. Watt became party to several legal battles. In June 1888, he was suing a fellow MP, Charles Cameron, who represented

Glasgow College , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. Cameron had claimed in his newspaper ''North British Daily Mail'' that an address given by Watt was plagiarism. In July 1892, Watt was forced to pay damages after losing a libel action. Watt's biggest legal entanglement concerned his marriage and acrimonious divorce. At the general election in July 1892, he stood again for re-election, this time as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Liberal, but came a poor fourth with only 179 votes (2.3% of the total).

Personal life

Watt married Julia Welstead of Home Place,

Whatlington Whatlington is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. The village is located seven miles (11 km) north of Hastings, just off the A21 road. The village is in two parts, one in the valley on the road from B ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

in 1880. She petitioned for divorce in May 1896 on the grounds of Watt's adultery and cruelty. In May 1901, Watt was named as co-respondent in a divorce action brought by Sir Reginald William Proctor-Beauchamp, 5th baronet, against his wife, Lady Violet Charlotte Julia Maria Proctor-Beauchamp, daughter of the 5th Earl of Roden. After Sir Reginald obtained his divorce, Watt's wife also obtained a divorce from Watt. In August 1905 Watt was arrested on a charge of attempting to procure the murder of his first wife, who had refused to finalize the divorce. He was found guilty on 21 December 1905, and sentenced to five years' penal servitude. Amid public sentiment that his conviction was based on false testimony, he served less than one year of his sentence and was released on 10 December 1906. Watt and Lady Violet Proctor-Beauchamp were married shortly after his release. In 1912, Sir Reginald Proctor-Beauchamp died, aged 59. In 1914, Watt's first wife remarried in London In 1921, Watt died in Brighton at the age of 73. In 1923, his first wife died in London, aged 67. In 1925, his second wife / his widow died in Brighton, aged 69.GRO Register of Deaths: DEC 1925 2b 300 BRIGHTON Violet J. C. M. Watt, aged 69

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Hugh 1848 births 1921 deaths Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Scottish politicians convicted of crimes University of Geneva alumni British expatriates in Switzerland People educated at Kilmarnock Academy