Sir Robert Paterson Houston, 1st Baronet (31 May 1853 – 14 April 1926) was a British Conservative Party politician and shipowner. He was born to a maritime engineer from

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, and, after an apprenticeship in Liverpool, Houston also became an engineer. In 1877 he bought a share in a

packet steamer Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

with his inheritance, using the profits to start up his own management company in 1880, R.P. Houston & Company.

Clan Line The Clan Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company that operated in one incarnation or another from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. History Foundation and early years The company that would become the Clan Lin ...

acquired R.P. Houston & Company in 1918. In 1892 he was elected as member of parliament (MP) for Liverpool West Toxteth, resigning on 26 April 1924 through appointment as

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (or the Three Hundreds of Chiltern) is a procedural device to allow members of Parliament (MPs) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since ...

. He was created a Baronet, of West Toxteth in the City of Liverpool, in 1922. In 1924 he married Lucy, Lady Byron, widow of the 9th baron, who then became Lady Houston. Research published in 2020 outlined her seven-year pursuit of him. In his will, he left his wife the bulk of his fortune. When he died on his steam yacht ''

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

'' on 14 April 1926, she became the second richest woman in England. Using Houston's money his widow funded the first flight over

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

and the development of the later-to-be-famous

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

aircraft. She then purchased a weekly journal, the '' Saturday Review'', in which she pursued a right-wing agenda to promote the strength of Britain and the Empire.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Robert Paterson 1853 births 1926 deaths

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 201 for this yea ...

Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 19th-century English businesspeople English businesspeople in shipping