Sir John Stirling Ainsworth (30 January 1844 – 24 May 1923) was an English industrialist, banker 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.
Family and education
Ainsworth was the son of Thomas Ainsworth of
Cleator Moor
Cleator Moor is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England, within the historic county of Cumberland. It had a population of 6,936 at the 2011 census.
Below Dent Fell, the town is on the Coast to Coast Walk that spans Northern England. ...
,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
. His mother was Mary Laurie,
daughter
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...
of John Stirling, a
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
from Craigie in
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...
. He was educated at
University College School
("Slowly but surely")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day school
, religion =
, president =
, head_label = Headmaster
, head = Mark Beard
, r_head_label =
, r_hea ...
, London and at
University College, London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = Â ...
where he obtained
MA and
LL.B
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degrees.
[''Who was Who'', OUP 2007] In 1879 he married Margaret Catherine daughter of Robert Reid Macredie. They had one son and two daughters. His wife died in 1918.
[ His brother, ]David Ainsworth
David Ainsworth (1842 – 21 March 1906) was a British Liberal Party politician. He first elected a Member of Parliament (MP) for the West Division of Cumberland at the 1880 general election. He had run unsuccessfully for this position in 187 ...
(1842–1906) was Liberal 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 ...
for West Cumberland
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
from 1880 to 1885 and for Egremont from 1892 to 1895.
Career
Ainsworth had interests in the iron mines and related industries in Cumberland. He was Chairman of the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway
The Cleator & Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) was located in West Cumberland in Northern England, serving the towns of Cleator Moor and Workington and intermediate villages. It was mainly used for coal, limestone and iron ore traffic for the ...
. He was also involved in banking, being a director of the Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...
Joint Stock Bank which later merged with Parr's Bank
Parr's Bank Limited was a bank that existed from 1782 to 1918. It was founded as Parr & Co. in Warrington, then in the county of Lancashire in the United Kingdom. In 1918 it was acquired by London County and Westminster Bank, and it was thus one ...
, of which Ainsworth then became director of the Cumberland and Westmoreland local board.
Politics
Ainsworth contested the Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
constituency at the 1886 general election. He faced the sitting 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 ...
, William Sproston Caine
William Sproston Caine (26 March 1842 – 17 March 1903) was a British politician and temperance advocate.
Biography
Caine was born at Seacombe, Cheshire, and was the eldest surviving son of Nathaniel Caine, a metal merchant from Cheshire, and w ...
who had been elected earlier that year in a by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
as a Liberal but had switched to the Liberal Unionist Party
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 ...
. Ainsworth did not fight the general elections of 1892
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States.
* February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado.
* February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...
or 1895
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
* January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...
but in 1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
he was chosen to contest Argyllshire
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
. He did not win but got the chance to fight the seat again in 1903 at a by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
when the sitting member, Donald Ninian Nicol, died.
At the by-election, which was held on 26 August 1903, Ainsworth won in a straight fight against a Unionist candidate, Mr. C Stewart, by a majority of 1,586 votes. Whilst an MP he voted in favour of the 1908 Women's Enfranchisement Bill. He held the seat until 1918
This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide.
Events
Below, the events ...
when he stood down from Parliament.
Other public service
Ainsworth was High Sheriff of Cumberland
The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or ...
in 1891 and was later Deputy Lieutenant of Cumberland and of Argyllshire
Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...
. He commanded the 3rd Volunteer Battalion, the Border Regiment
The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot.
After service ...
from 1898 to November 1902, and received the honorary rank of colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
as he retired. He also served as 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 ...
in Cumberland. He was created a baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
in 1917.[ In 1910 he was a member of the Royal Commission on Mines.
]
Death
Ainsworth died on 24 May 1923, aged 79 years.
See also
* Ainsworth baronets
*List of baronetcies in the baronetage of the United Kingdom
This is a list of baronetcies in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. They have been created since 1801, when they replaced the baronetages of Baronetage of Great Britain and Baronetage of Ireland. This list is not currently complete.
A
B ...
*List of Old Gowers
This is a List of notable Old Gowers, former pupils of University College School. The school opened on 1 November 1830, at 16 Gower Street, which is the origin of the sobriquet "Old Gower".
A
*Zak Abel (born 1995), English singer/songwriter, ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling, Sir John Ainsworth Stirling, 1st Baronet
1844 births
1923 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
High Sheriffs of Cumberland
Scottish Liberal Party MPs
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Highland constituencies
Alumni of University College London
UK MPs 1900–1906
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
English bankers
English industrialists
English justices of the peace
People from Cleator Moor
Politics of Cumbria
People educated at University College School
Deputy Lieutenants of Argyllshire
Deputy Lieutenants of Cumberland