Robert Burdon Stoker (19 June 1859 – 4 September 1919) was a British shipping magnate and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Shipping career

Stoker was born in north-east England and educated at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC). History Liverpool College was the first of many public schools founded in the Victorian E ...

.''Who Was Who'', Published by A&C Black Limited. Online edition, 2020 Aged 17 he was given his first ship, a 500-ton coaster, by his father. He entered a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

sailing ship firm, involved in the American and Canadian trades, and became its manager. In 1882, he was invited by

Christopher Furness Christopher Furness may refer to: *Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness Christopher Furness, 1st Baron Furness (23 April 1852 – 10 November 1912) was a British businessman and Liberal Party politician. Early life Furness was born in West ...

, a director of the Furness, Withy (FW) shipping group, to become one of his aides. Stoker opened an office in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

for the start of the Furness Line's operations to North America and within two years the line was operating ten ships on the North Atlantic. Stoker was asked to open an FW office in London in 1890, by which time he owned a 3,500-ton tramp steamer named the ''Sydenham'' and later the steamer ''Knutsford''. Furness, Withy and Company was formed in 1891, with Christopher Furness as chairman and Stoker as ship director. Stoker went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1896 on behalf of FW to buy the Philadelphia Trans-Atlantic Line, returning after six months. On the formation of

Manchester Liners Manchester Liners was a cargo and passenger shipping company founded in 1898, based in Manchester, England. The line pioneered the regular passage of ocean-going ships along the Manchester Ship Canal. Its main sphere of operation was the transat ...

Limited (ML) in 1898, FW took a major shareholding in the new company and Stoker resigned from FW's board to become ML's first managing director. A contemporary article in ''Syren and Shipping'' said that Stoker was a "shrewd man of business, an able administrator at the head of affairs and the capital of Lancashire behind it, ML should flourish exceedingly". On the death in 1912 of Lord Furness, as he had become, Stoker was elected as chairman of ML, remaining in office until his death. Stoker's son, Kenneth Stoker, became a director of ML in 1919 and managing director in 1932. He retired in June 1968 after 49 years service. Kenneth's son, also Robert Burdon Stoker, joined ML in 1932 and retired as chairman in 1979. Stoker was also a director of the

Manchester Ship Canal The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...

Company and was elected president of the Manchester Steamship Owners Association. In 1917 he became President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.''A Manchester By-Election. Death of R. B. Stoker M.P.'', 5 September 1919, p. 12 Stoker had lived in Knutsford.

Parliamentary work

In March 1918 the sitting MP for Manchester South, major

Philip Glazebrook Major Philip Kirkland Glazebrook, DSO (24 December 1880 – 7 March 1918) was a British businessman and Conservative politician. He was killed in action in the First World War. He was the son of John Knowles Glazebrook and Cecilia Anne Esthe ...

, was killed in action. Stoker was chosen as the

Coalition Conservative The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

candidate for the vacant seat, and was elected unopposed.''News in Brief'', The Times, 19 March 1918, p. 3 The

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, also ...

reorganised Manchester's constituencies, and Stoker was elected as first MP for the new Rusholme constituency. R B Stoker died at his home in September 1919, aged 60 after a long illness.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography; *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoker, R B 1859 births 1919 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 People from Knutsford British businesspeople in shipping People educated at Liverpool College 19th-century British businesspeople