William Frederick Danvers Smith, 2nd Viscount Hambleden DL (12 August 1868 – 16 June 1928), known as Frederick Smith, was an English hereditary

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

, businessman and politician. He studied at Eton, and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

Life and career

Smith was involved in the management of the family business, W H Smith, which was founded by his grandfather, William Henry Smith. He inherited sole control of the business from his father in 1891 and passed it on to his son. In 1891, he also succeeded his father William Henry Smith as Member of Parliament for the Strand constituency, holding the seat until January 1910. His rapid succession to the seat his father held in Parliament may have played a role in his being targeted for

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

by the notorious poisoner Dr Thomas Neill Cream, who (writing under an assumed name) claimed to have proof that Smith had poisoned a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

. This was one of three known attempts at blackmail that may have been the real motive for Cream's string of poisonings in the Stepney and

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

areas of London from October 1891 to April 1892. They played a small role in the final arrest, prosecution and conviction of Cream at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in October 1892, and his execution the following month. Smith was commissioned Lieutenant in the 2nd Buckinghamshire Rifle Volunteers (Eton College) in 1885, but resigned in 1887. In 1891 he was commissioned

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1892,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1895,

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

10 February 1902, and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1914. He served with the Imperial Yeomanry during the Boer War. Smith was made Honorary Colonel of the Royal Devon Yeomanry Artillery in 1922. He succeeded his mother,

Emily Smith Emily Smith may refer to: *Emily Smith (author), English children's author *Emily Smith (gymnast) (born 1986), Canadian trampolinist *Emily Smith (singer) (born 1981), Scottish folk singer *Emily Smith (field hockey) (born 1992), Australian field h ...

, as Viscount Hambleden following her death in 1913. He married Esther Georgiana Caroline ''nee'' Gore, a daughter of

Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran Arthur Saunders Gore, 5th Earl of Arran (6 January 1839 – 14 March 1901), known as Viscount Sudley from 1839 to 1884, was an Anglo-Irish peer and diplomat. Early life Arran was the eldest son of Philip Yorke Gore, 4th Earl of Arran, and Eliz ...

. Smith was succeeded by their son, William Henry Smith. They had four other children: Edith Mabell Emily (1901–1973), James Frederick Arthur (b. 1906), David John (1907–1976) and Margaret Esther Lucie (1908–1980). Smith was the main sponsor of the '' Victoria County History'' from 1909 until 1931. In May 1902, he was the first person to receive the honorary freedom of the borough of

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

, "in recognition of his valuable services to the borough and his munificent donation to the building fund of the new Town hall".

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hambleden, Frederick Smith, 2nd Viscount 1868 births 1928 deaths People educated at Eton College Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers British businesspeople in retailing Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick UK MPs who inherited peerages Smith, Frederick People associated with King's College London Fellows of King's College London British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Deputy Lieutenants of Devon Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry officers Imperial Yeomanry officers People from Filey Sportspeople from Yorkshire