Alfred Illingworth was an English worsted spinner and Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1868 and 1895.

Illingworth was born at Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, the son of Daniel Illingworth and his wife Elizabeth Hill. He was educated at Huddersfield College and entered the family worsted

Worsted

Worsted , is the name of a yarn, the cloth made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from the village of Worstead in the English county of Norfolk...

 spinning business of D Illingworth & Sons at the age of 16. In 1865, with his brother Henry, he established the Whetley Mills, one of the largest factories in Bradford. He was also a director of the Bradford District Bank. He had strong non-conformist and free trade views and entered into politics.

At the 1868 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1868

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...

, Illingworth was elected MP

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Knaresborough

Knaresborough (UK Parliament constituency)

Knaresborough was a parliamentary constituency which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1868, and then one MP until its abolition in 1885.-Before the Great Reform Act:...

, but lost the seat in 1874. He was then elected at Bradford

Bradford (UK Parliament constituency)

Bradford was a parliamentary constituency in Bradford, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election....

 at the 1880 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1880

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

 until the constituency was reorganised under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

. At the 1885 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1885

-Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...

  he was elected for Bradford West

Bradford West (UK Parliament constituency)

Bradford West is a borough constituency in England which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 and held the seat until 1895.

Illingworth married Margaret Holden, daughter of Sir Isaac Holden, 1st Baronet in 1863 and his brother Henry married another daughter of Holden creating a strong alliance of two of the dominant Bradford families of the time. Henry was the father of Percy Illingworth

Percy Illingworth

Percy Holden Illingworth was a British Liberal Party. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury under H. H...

 and Albert Illingworth

Albert Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth

Albert Holden Illingworth, 1st Baron Illingworth PC , was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He served as Postmaster General between 1916 and 1921 in David Lloyd George's coalition government.-Background and education:...

who were also active in politics in Yorkshire.

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