James Whatman (1813 – 12 March 1887) 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 ...

in two periods between 1852 and 1874. Whatman was the son of James Whatman of Vinter's, near Maidstone and his wife Eliza Susanna Gaussen, daughter of Samuel Richard Gaussen of Brookman's Park, Hertfordshire. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and at Christ Church, Oxford graduating with BA 4th class in classics in 1834 and MA in 1838. He became a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

on 9 January 1840 and was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Whatman was a director of the South Eastern Railway. He was a captain in the West Kent Militia and was a Deputy Lieutenant of London and a Deputy Lieutenant and J.P. for Kent.Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
/ref> Whatman was elected at 1852 general election as one of the two

Members 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 ...

(MP) for the

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...

, but at the 1857 general election he did not stand again in Maidstone, and instead won one of the two seats for the Western division of Kent. He was defeated in that constituency at the 1859 general election. After a six-year absence, Whatman was returned to the

at the 1865 election for the borough of

, and held that seat until he stood down at the 1874 general election. Whatman married Louisa Isabella Ross, daughter of Charles and Lady Mary Ross in 1850.

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* 1813 births 1887 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy Lieutenants of the City of London Deputy Lieutenants of Kent Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Eton College UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub