Sir Joseph Compton-Rickett, DL PC (13 February 1847 – 30 July 1919), was a British Liberal Party politician. He was also an industrialist (until 1902), lay preacher, and writer. He wrote poetry and fiction, as well as on such topics as popular philosophy. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Maurice Baxter.

Background

He was born in London as Joseph Rickett, the eldest son of Joseph Rickett, of East Hoathly. He was educated at King Edward VI School, Bath. In 1868 he married Catharine Sarah Gamble (1847–1933). They had ten children. There were four sons and four daughters living when he died in 1919.
In 1907 Joseph Compton-Rickett and his wife had five living daughters and four living sons. He was knighted on 24 December 1907. He assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Compton in 1908. In 1911 he was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

.'COMPTON-RICKETT, Rt Hon. Sir Joseph'
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press (April 2014)]; accessed 5 May 2017.

Professional career

He was in business and interested in various commercial undertakings. (with photo on p. 100) In 1902, he retired from the chairmanship of several coal trade companies to devote himself to his political career.

Political career

He was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

from

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 ...

–

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

. He had gained the seat from the Conservatives in 1895 and held it in 1900. He was then Member of Parliament for Osgoldcross from

–

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 ...

. In 1906 he re-gained the seat that had been Independent Liberal since 1899. He held office in the Coalition Government of

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

as Paymaster-General from 1916 to 1919. In 1917 he served as a Charity Commissioner. He was Member of Parliament for the

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

constituency that largely absorbed Osgoldcross from

until his death aged 72 the following year. For the execution of his will, Sir Joseph's eldest son,

Arthur Compton-Rickett Arthur Compton-Rickett (born Arthur Rickett; 20February 18698September 1937) was a lawyer, author, literary historian, and editor. Biography Born in Canonbury, London, with the surname Rickett, he assumed the surname Compton-Rickett in 1908 when ...

, was appointed the public trustee.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Compton-Rickett, Joseph 1847 births 1919 deaths Knights Bachelor British poets British Christians Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 People educated at King Edward's School, Bath Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 19th-century British businesspeople