Sir Richard Ashmole Cooper, 2nd Baronet (11 August 1874 – 5 March 1946) was a British

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a member of the Cooper Baronets, of Shenstone Court.

Biography

Cooper was educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

, and succeeded to the

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 ...

cy in 1913. He was Chairman of the chemical manufacturing firm Cooper, McDougall & Robertson. He served in the

Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) The Staffordshire Yeomanry (Queen's Own Royal Regiment) was a mounted auxiliary unit of the British Army raised in 1794 to defend Great Britain from foreign invasion. It continued in service after the Napoleonic Wars, frequently being called out ...

, where he was appointed a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

26 March 1902. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

January 1910 general election The January 1910 UK general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. Called amid a constitutional crisis after the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the People's Budget, the Liberal government, seeking a mandate, los ...

, a seat he would hold until

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. He founded the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

with Sir Henry Page Croft in 1917 but stood at the 1918 election as an Independent Conservative. He was prominent, along with Croft, in the campaign against the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

in July 1922 for selling

honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

. Between 1896 and 1911, Cooper resided at

Ashlyns Hall Ashlyns Hall is a country house at the edge of Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The earliest local records of the Ashlyn name occur in a document dating from 1314 which describes a Reginal ''Assely ...

in Berkhamsted, leased from the Smith-Dorrien family. He married Alice Priestland on 18 April 1900: the couple had three sons, including the 3rd and 4th Baronets. Cooper died in 1946 and is interred in the family vault in Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted.

Family

Cooper married Alice Priestland in 1900.

References

* *
Catalogue
of Cooper's papers a

*Maurice Cowling, ''The Impact of Labour. 1920–1924'' (Cambridge University Press, 1971).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Richard 1874 births People educated at Clifton College 1946 deaths Cooper, Richard Ashmole, 2nd Baronet Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Staffordshire Yeomanry officers