Sir Charles Forster Vanity Fair 28 March 1874

Sir Charles Forster, 1st Baronet (3 August 1815 – 26 July 1891) 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 1852 to 1891.

Biography

Forster was born at

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, the only son of Charles Smith Forster of Lysways Hall,

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, nort ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Emery. His father was a banker of Walsall and had been Member of Parliament for Walsall and

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...

. Forster was educated at Worcester College, Oxford and called to the bar at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1843. He was a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for Staffordshire. Forster stood unsuccessfully for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

in 1847, but in 1852, he was returned unopposed as MP for Walsall. He lived at Lysways Hall, Staffordshire, and was created a baronet, of Lysways Hall, in March 1874. He remained member for Walsall until his death at the age of 75, in 1891. He made 210 contributions in the House of Commons. Forster supported

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 ...

in 1875, writing to the Manchester-based '' Women's Suffrage Journal'' that he " egarded tas a measure of progress, and one which cannot logically be resisted." Forster married Frances Catherine Surtees of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1840. His son, Charles, succeeded to the baronetcy.

References

External links

* 1815 births 1891 deaths Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Politicians from Worcester, England {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub