Edward Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton
Encyclopedia
Edward Allen Brotherton, 1st Baron Brotherton (1 April 1856 – 21 October 1930), known as Sir Edward Brotherton, Bt, between 1918 and 1929, was an industrialist in Wakefield
, West Yorkshire
, England and a benefactor to the University of Leeds
and other causes. He was also a Conservative Party
politician, and sat in the House of Commons between 1902 and 1922.
He was born in Ardwick
, Manchester, but moved to Wakefield at the age of 22 and lived in Yorkshire thereafter. He married in 1882, but his wife died in childbirth in 1883 and the child shortly afterwards; he did not remarry.
The chemical manufacturing company he founded in Wakefield in 1878 still exists on the same site, as Brotherton Esseco. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Esseco Group based in Trecate, Italy.
In 1927 he donated £100,000 for the building of a new library for the University of Leeds, and the Brotherton Library
building is still at the heart of the University Library. He also left his personal collection of books and manuscripts in trust for the University, and the Brotherton Collection is a key section of the University Library, attracting international scholars.
Brotherton was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield
1902–1910 and 1918–1922. He was first elected at a by-election in 1902, when his predecessor Lord Milton
inherited a peerage on the death of his grandfather. He was created a Baronet, of Wakefield in the West Riding of the County of York, in 1918 and raised to the peerage as Baron Brotherton, of Wakefield in the County of York, in 1929, for "political, public and charitable causes". The titles became extinct on his death in October 1930, aged 74.
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England and a benefactor to the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
and other causes. He was also a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, and sat in the House of Commons between 1902 and 1922.
He was born in Ardwick
Ardwick
Ardwick is a district of the City of Manchester, in North West England, about one mile east of Manchester City Centre.By the mid-19th century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealthy suburb of Manchester, but by the end of that century it had become heavily industrialised...
, Manchester, but moved to Wakefield at the age of 22 and lived in Yorkshire thereafter. He married in 1882, but his wife died in childbirth in 1883 and the child shortly afterwards; he did not remarry.
The chemical manufacturing company he founded in Wakefield in 1878 still exists on the same site, as Brotherton Esseco. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Esseco Group based in Trecate, Italy.
In 1927 he donated £100,000 for the building of a new library for the University of Leeds, and the Brotherton Library
Brotherton Library
The Brotherton Library is a 1936 Grade II listed Beaux-Arts building with some art deco fittings, located on the main campus of the University of Leeds...
building is still at the heart of the University Library. He also left his personal collection of books and manuscripts in trust for the University, and the Brotherton Collection is a key section of the University Library, attracting international scholars.
Brotherton was also Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield
Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)
Wakefield is a county constituency 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.-Boundaries:...
1902–1910 and 1918–1922. He was first elected at a by-election in 1902, when his predecessor Lord Milton
William Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam
William Charles de Meuron Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 7th Earl FitzWilliam was a British aristocrat. He was born in Pointe de Meuron, Canada and died at the family's seat...
inherited a peerage on the death of his grandfather. He was created a Baronet, of Wakefield in the West Riding of the County of York, in 1918 and raised to the peerage as Baron Brotherton, of Wakefield in the County of York, in 1929, for "political, public and charitable causes". The titles became extinct on his death in October 1930, aged 74.
External links
- Biography on website of Brotherton Esseco
- A podcast about a 14th-century manuscript from the Brotherton collection at the University of Leeds
- Audio Podcast from Astrotalkuk.org. A rediscovery of a copy of the Almagest in the special collections of the Brotherton Library in the University of Leeds.