John Pennington Thomasson (19 May 1841, in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

– 16 May 1904, in

Heaton, Greater Manchester Heaton is mostly a residential district of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It lies about north west of Bolton town centre. It is bounded by Deane to the south, Markland Hill to the west, and Smithills and Halliwell to the north. History H ...

) was an English cotton spinner and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. He was elected as a

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

at the 1880 general election along with

John Kynaston Cross John Kynaston Cross (13 October 1832 – 20 March 1887), was a British cotton spinner and Liberal Party politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for India under William Gladstone from 1883 to 1885. Background Cross was the second of t ...

in the double member constituency, signifying a great victory as two liberals were elected for the first time since 1852. He served for 5 years, when he lost his seat owing to the

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

split. He became a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

, although he returned to the Liberal fold eventually.

Biography

Born on 19 May 1841, third child of

Thomas Thomasson Thomas Thomasson (18081876) was a political economist and a campaigner for the repeal of the Corn Laws who was one of Bolton's greatest benefactors. Life Thomasson was born at Turton into a Bolton family and was grandson of one of the original ...

and Maria Pennington, he was born into a well known family of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

. In about 1862,he entered the cotton spinning firm founded by his grandfather at Mill Hill, in the Haulgh, Bolton, where he helped run the business of four

cotton mills A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

, with great success until 1871, when the partnership was dissolved and he continued with No. 3 mill under the old name of John Thomasson and Son. In 1867 he married Katharine Lucas, a niece of

John Bright John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies. A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn Laws ...

, and daughter of

Margaret Bright Lucas Margaret Bright Lucas (14 July 1818 – 4 February 1890) was a British temperance activist and suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although th ...

. They lived at Alderly Edge,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, and had three children, Lucas (1868), Beatrice (1870) and

Franklin Thomasson Franklin 'Frankie' Thomasson (16 August 1873 – 29 October 1941) was an English 20th century MP. Descended from a well known family of cotton spinners from Bolton, Lancashire, Franklin Thomasson was born on 16 August 1873 at Alderley Edge, Ches ...

(1873). He was, like his father, an advanced Liberal. In 1873 he was invited to contest the Bolton constituency, but declined. He followed his father in many public benefactions. By 1876 he had given 100 scholarships to the value of £25 each for three years. In 1881 he financed the building of the Haulgh Board School, gave £1,000 towards the founding of the Chadwick Museum, and built the Folds Road gymnasium. In all it is calculated that he gave over £30,000 to the cause of education in the borough. In 1890 he gave Mere Hall, formerly the residence of Sir Benjamin Dobson, to the town as a public park, together with £5,000 towards alterations. This became the original Bolton Art Gallery. As a memorial of his work and in recognition of his services to the borough, the Thomasson Memorial School was erected on Devonshire Road. The school, for blind and deaf children was approved in February 1907. He was made a freeman of the borough in 1902. He died at

on 16 May 1904 aged 62.Obituary, ''The Times'', Tuesday, 17 May 1904, p. 10 He was a Unitarian, and a keen supporter of Bank Street Chapel, and his enlightened outlook is proved by the fact that he was an early supporter of the

Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

movement.

References

*''Bolton Journal and Guardian'', 4 August 1933

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomasson, John Pennington People educated at Bolton School People from Bolton 1841 births 1904 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1880–1885 English Quakers English Unitarians