Sir Alfred Hickman, 1st Baronet (3 July 1830 – 11 March 1910) was a British industrialist and Conservative party politician who was a Member of Parliament (MP) between 1885 and 1906. Hickman was the son of George Rushbury Hickman of

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and his wife Mary Haden. His father was the owner of the Moat Colliery in Tipton. Hickman was educated at

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. He became a colliery proprietor and ironmaster, as the family acquired Springvale Furnace in 1866. He was a director of Lloyd's Staffordshire Proving House, a Member of Council of the Mining Association of Great Britain, and chairman of Staffordshire Railway and Canal Freighter's Association. In 1882 he formed the Staffordshire Steel Ingot & Iron Company Ltd to produce steel using the Bessemer process. Hickman stood for parliament for the Conservatives at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

in 1880 but was defeated. Under the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict. c. 23) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (sometimes called the "Reform Act of 1885"). It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that r ...

the Wolverhampton constituency was divided and in the 1885 general election, Hickman was elected Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton West. He lost the seat in 1886, regained it in 1892 and held it until 1906. Hickman was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1891 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1903. He was President of the British Iron Trades Council and President of Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce. In July 1902 he was given the honorary freedom of the borough of Wolverhampton. In 1906 he became Chairman of the newly formed Tarmac Limited; the company used large quantities of his waste

slag The general term slag may be a by-product or co-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals depending on the type of material being produced. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be c ...

. The Staffordshire Steel Ingot & Iron Company later became part of Stewarts & Lloyds. On his death in 1910, he bequeathed a park (Hickman Park) to the people of Bilston. Hickman married Lucy Owen Smith in 1850. Their eldest son Alfred William Hickman, a justice of the peace, died in August 1902, aged 51. His grandson Alfred succeeded to the baronetcy.

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* 1830 births 1910 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor English knights People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Politicians from Wolverhampton {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub