Sir (Emil Hugo Oscar) Robert Ropner, 1st Baronet (born Röpner; 16 December 1838 – 26 February 1924) was a German-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

shipbuilder, shipowner, and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament.

Career

Ropner was born in 1838 in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, the son of Johann Heinrich Röpner and Johanne Christiane Emilie Bessel. He emigrated to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and worked for a coal export concern before building up a fleet of

colliers Collier or colliers may refer to: Coal industry * Collier, coal miner or coal merchant * Colliery, coal mining and selling; or a coal mine *Collier (ship), a bulk cargo ship which carried coal *Charcoal maker, in colonial United States and also i ...

and founding the Ropner Shipping Company in Hartlepool in 1874. In 1888, Robert Ropner acquired a shipyard at

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. Ropner established a successful shipbuilding firm, which built many trunk deck ships. No longer limited to hauling coal, Ropner also established a company to operate

tramp steamer A boat or ship engaged in the tramp trade is one which does not have a fixed schedule, itinerary nor published ports of call, and trades on the spot market as opposed to freight liners. A steamship engaged in the tramp trade is sometimes called ...

s. Although the shipyard went into liquidation soon after what was then known as the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the shipping company continued to operate through both World Wars, despite heavy wartime losses of vessels. Robert Ropner served as

High Sheriff of Durham This is a list of the high sheriffs of County Durham, England. In most counties the high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. In the Palatinate of Durham the officeholder was appointed by and was accountable to the Bishop of ...

in 1896 and from 1900 to 1910 represented the constituency of Stockton-on-Tees in 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 ...

. He was President of the

UK Chamber of Shipping The UK Chamber of Shipping is the trade association and lobbying organisation of the UK shipping industry, representing around 200 member companies. They work with government, parliament, international organisations and others in the maritime ind ...

for 1902. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1902 Birthday Honours The 1902 Birthday Honours were announced on 10 November 1902, to celebrate the birthday of Edward VII the previous day. The list included appointments to various orders and honours of the United Kingdom and the British Empire. The list was publi ...

and knighted by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

on 18 December 1902. He was created

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 ...

of Preston Hall, Stockton-on-Tees, in the County Palatine of Durham, and of Skutterskelfe Hall, Hutton Rudby, in the North Riding of York on 20 August 1904. Ropner died 26 February 1924, aged 85, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son John. His third son William Ropner was the father of the Conservative politician

Sir Leonard Ropner, 1st Baronet Sir Leonard Ropner, 1st Baronet, (26 February 1895 – 12 October 1977) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Background Ropner was the son of William Ropner, third son of Sir Robert Ropner, 1st Baronet. Leonard's grand ...

of Thorp Perrow. Robert Ropner is buried in the family vault at All Saints churchyard,

Hutton Rudby Hutton Rudby is a village and civil parish situated west of the market town of Stokesley in North Yorkshire, England. At the 2011 census, the village's parish and built-up area subdivision had a population of 1,572 while its main population (i ...

, North Yorkshire.

References

Notes

Sources

* and , ''Shipping Lines''. PortCities Southampton. Retrieved 2007-11-18. *

External links

* 1838 births 1924 deaths Businesspeople from Magdeburg Emigrants from the German Empire to the United Kingdom Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 British businesspeople in shipping High sheriffs of Durham Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Businesspeople awarded knighthoods {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1830s-stub