John Lancaster (1816 – 21 April 1884) was an English

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. T ...

from 1868 to 1874. Lancaster was the son of John Lancaster of Prestwich, Lancashire. He was engaged in the coal and iron trades and was chairman of the

Lancashire Union Railway The Lancashire Union Railway ran between Blackburn and St Helens in Lancashire, England. It was built primarily to carry goods between Blackburn and Garston Dock on the River Mersey, and also to serve collieries in the Wigan area. Most of the ...

. He was a JP for Lancashire and a Fellow of the Geological Society.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
/ref> In 1865 Lancaster stood unsuccessfully for Parliament at

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

. At the 1868 general election 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 o ...

for Wigan. He held the seat until 1874. Lancaster died at the age of 67. ''The Graphic'' of Saturday, 26 April 1884 recorded

"Mr. John LANCASTER, formerly M.P., for Wigan, who rose from humble beginnings to the ownership of the great mines of
Nantyglo Nantyglo () is a village in the ancient parish of Aberystruth and county of Monmouth situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Blaina and Brynmawr in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent. Governance An electoral ward in the same n ...

Blaina Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county o ...
, Monmouthshire. The captain and several of the crew of the 'Alabama', after its engagement with the 'Kearsarge', off Cherbourg, in 1864, were rescued by Mr. LANCASTER, who, to save them, exposed his yacht to the fire of the Federal war-steamer."

This refers to the Battle of Cherbourg in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in which the Union sloop sank the Confederate raider . In the aftermath, Lancaster, having observed the battle on his personal steam

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

''Deerhound'', managed to rescue Captain

Raphael Semmes Raphael Semmes ( ; September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. Until then, he had been a serving officer in the US Navy from 1826 to 1860. During the American Civil War, Semmes wa ...

, his officers, and a handful of crewmen; his status as a civilian and a member of Parliament enabled him to spirit the defeated Confederates to safety before they could be captured. The survivors were able to return home, with Semmes quickly returning to active service in the Confederate navy. In 1841 Lancaster married Euphemia Gibson, daughter of D. Gibson of Renfrewshire.

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1816 births 1884 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wigan Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society 19th-century English businesspeople {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub