Sir James Augustus Grant, 1st Baronet (3 March 1867 – 29 July 1932) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Early life

Born in Jalandhar, India, he was the son of the Scottish explorer

James Augustus Grant Lieutenant-Colonel James Augustus Grant (11 April 1827 – 11 February 1892) was a Scottish explorer of eastern equatorial Africa. He made contributions to the journals of various learned societies, the most notable being the "Botany of the ...

and his wife Margaret Laurie. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1886. After university, Grant worked in South Africa on the Kimberley– Bechuanaland railway. He accompanied Joseph Thomson on his final expedition of 1890. At this point he was working for the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

and

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes ( ; 5 July 185326 March 1902) was an English-South African mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. He and his British South Africa Company founded th ...

, a contact of his father. With Frank Elliott Lochner of the Bechuanaland Police and

Alfred Sharpe Sir Alfred Sharpe (19 May 1853 – 10 December 1935) was Commissioner and Consul-General for the British Central Africa Protectorate and first Governor of Nyasaland. He trained as a solicitor but was in turn a planter and a professional hu ...

, Thomson and Grant went to visit

Msiri Msiri (c. 1830 – December 20, 1891) founded and ruled the Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in south-east Katanga (now in DR Congo) from about 1856 to 1891. His name is sometimes spelled 'M'Siri' in articles in F ...

Garenganze The Yeke Kingdom (also called the ''Garanganze'' or ''Garenganze'' kingdom) of the Garanganze people in Katanga, DR Congo, was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king, Msiri, but it became for a while the most powerful sta ...

, seeking mineral rights.

Politician

Grant was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Egremont Egremont may refer to: Places * Egremont, Cumbria, England * Egremont, Merseyside, England * Egremont, Massachusetts, United States * Egremont, Alberta, Canada Other uses * Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Gr ...

from January 1910 until the constituency was abolished for the 1918 general election. He was then elected as MP for

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and civil parish in the Cumberland (unitary authority), Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It is a port on the north-west coast, and lies outside the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park. ...

, but lost that seat at the 1922 general election to Labour Party candidate Thomas Gavan Duffy. Grant was strongly opposed to extending the franchise to women. During a parliamentary debate on the bill which became the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

he said: "We are controlled and worried enough by women, and I have heard no reason why we should alter the present state of affairs." Grant did not contest the 1923 general election, but returned to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

at the 1924 general election as MP for

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district covers the towns of Melbourne, Derbyshire, Melbourne and Swadlincote as well as numerous villages and hamlets such as Hilton, Derbys ...

. He retired from

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the 1929 election, having been made 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 July 1926, of Househill, Nairn. The baronetcy became extinct on Grant's death in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

in 1932, aged 65.

Family

Grant married in 1896 Nina Frances Kennard, daughter of Arthur Challis Kennard and his wife the novelist Nina H. Kennard (1844–1926). Their daughter Nina Margaret Sophie in 1924 married

Sir Anselm Guise, 6th Baronet Sir Anselm William Edward Guise, 6th Baronet (18 September 1888 – 12 September 1970) was an English soldier, landowner, and magistrate, of Elmore Court, Gloucester. He was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1926. Life Guise was the son of S ...

, of

Elmore Court Elmore Court is a grade II* listed mansion, located at Elmore in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. The original building dates from between 1564 and 1588. History The property has been the family seat of the Guise baronets for ...

, Gloucestershire, and they had two sons and a daughter, including Sir John Grant Guise, 7th Baronet (1927–2007). A younger daughter Hester, born 1899, married in 1923 Arthur Darley Bridge of the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* 1867 births 1932 deaths People from Poplar, London Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1924–1929 British people in colonial India {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1860s-stub