John Webster LLD (1810 – 31 May 1891) was a Scottish lawyer and a

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 1880 to 1885.

Life

Webster was born on 6 September 1810 the eldest son of Alexander Webster, an advocate of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, and his wife Margaret McKilligan, daughter of James McKilligan. He was educated at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

. He became an advocate in Aberdeen and was a J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant for

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. From 1856 to 1859 he was Lord Provost of Aberdeen. He was also chairman of the Scottish Provincial Assurance Company and a member of the University Court of Aberdeen University. He was awarded LLD in 1877.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
/ref> At the 1880 general election Webster 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 ...

for

. He held the seat until 1885 when it was divided under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

. Webster died at the age of 80. He is buried in the churchyard of the

Kirk of St Nicholas The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the ''"Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting"''. It is also known as ''"The Mit ...

on Union Street in Aberdeen.

Family

Webster married Margaret Chalmers (1816-1895) daughter of David Chalmers of Westburn Aberdeen in 1839.

References

External links

* 1810 births 1891 deaths UK MPs 1880–1885 Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish lawyers Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Aberdeen constituencies {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub