Thomas Milner Gibson PC (3 September 1806 – 25 February 1884) was a British politician.

Background and education

Thomas Milner Gibson came of a Suffolk family, but was born in Port of Spain,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, where his father, Thomas Milner Gibson, was serving as an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He was educated in Trinidad, in a school at Higham Hill also attended by Benjamin Disraeli, at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

, and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated in 1830.

Political career

In 1837, Gibson was elected to parliament as

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 in ...

member for

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, but resigned two years later and losing the subsequent by-election, having adopted

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 ...

views, and became an ardent supporter of the free-trade movement. As one of

Richard Cobden Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a you ...

's chief allies, he was elected to 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 ...

Member 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 o ...

for

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1841, and, from 1846 to 1848, he was

Vice-President of the Board of Trade The office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade is a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade. The office was created in 1786 but fell into abeyance in 1867. From 1848 onwards, the office was he ...

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

's ministry. Although defeated in Manchester in 1857, he found another seat for

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...

, and sat in the cabinet under

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

and then Russell from 1859 to 1866 as President of the Board of Trade. In 1846, he was sworn of the Privy Council. Gibson was the leading spirit in the movement for the repeal of

taxes on knowledge Taxes on knowledge was a slogan defining an extended British campaign against duties and taxes on newspapers, their advertising content, and the paper they were printed on. The paper tax was early identified as an issue: "A tax upon Paper, is a t ...

, and his successful efforts on behalf of journalism and advertising were recognized by a public testimonial in 1862. He retired from political life in 1868, but he and his wife, whose salon was a great Liberal centre, were for many years very influential in society.

Family

Arethusa Susannah Milner Gibson portrait

Milner Gibson married Arethusa Susannah Cullum, daughter of Revd. Sir Thomas Gery Cullum, 7th Baronet of Hardwick House, Suffolk, in 1832. They resided at Theberton House, Suffolk. Gibson also had a relationship with Susannah Bowles, a servant girl. Their son,

Thomas Gibson Bowles Thomas Gibson Bowles (15 January 1842 – 12 January 1922), known generally as Tommy Bowles, was an English publisher and parliamentarian. He founded the magazines '' The Lady'' and the English ''Vanity Fair'', and became a Member of Parliame ...

, became a noted publisher and was the maternal grandfather of the

Mitford sisters The Mitford family is an aristocratic English family, whose principal line had its seats at Mitford, Northumberland. Several heads of the family served as High Sheriff of Northumberland. A junior line, with seats at Newton Park, Northumberlan ...

. Milner Gibson died on board his yacht, the Resolute, at Algiers on 25 February 1884, aged 77, and was buried in St. Peter's churchyard at

Theberton Theberton is a village in Suffolk, England. It is located north-east of Saxmundham, and miles north of Leiston, its post town. History During the First World War, a German Zeppelin airship, L48, was shot down near Theberton at 02:00 on the ...

in Suffolk on 13 March.

Notes

References

Thomas Milner Gibson and wife Susannah, The Gentleman's Magazine, 1855

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Thomas Milner 1806 births 1884 deaths People from Port of Spain British male sailors (sport) People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Ipswich UK MPs 1865–1868 Presidents of the Board of Trade Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Ashton-under-Lyne Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Manchester