George Woodyatt Hastings (25 September 1825 – 21 October 1917) was an English

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. T ...

from 1880 to 1892.

Life

Hastings was the only son of

Sir Charles Hastings Sir Charles Hastings (11 January 1794 – 30 July 1866) was a medical surgeon and a founder of the British Medical Association, the BMA, (then known as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association) on 19 July 1832. He was also a notable life ...

, M.D., D.C.L., founder of the British Medical Association, of Barnard's Green, Malvern, and his wife Hannah Woodyatt. He was a relation of

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...

(1732–1818) Governor of Bengal from 1772. The family had owned the estate of Daylesford in Gloucestershire from the 12th century. Hastings was educated at

Bromsgrove School Bromsgrove School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove, England. Founded in 1553, it is one of the oldest public schools in Britain, and one of the 14 founding members of the Headmaste ...

and at Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1850, he was called to the bar at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. He was secretary of the Law Amendment Society and Hon. secretary of the National Reformatory Union. From 1857 to 1868, he was General Secretary of the

National Association for Promotion of Social Science The National Association for the Promotion of Social Science (NAPSS), often known as the Social Science Association, was a British reformist group founded in 1857 by Lord Brougham. It pursued issues in public health, industrial relations, penal ref ...

, and was Chairman of their Council from 1868 to 1883. He was chairman of Worcester School Board from 1871 to 1883. He was a J.P. and vice-chairman of Quarter Sessions for

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

, and a J.P. and a Deputy Lieutenant of

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

. Hastings stood for parliament unsuccessfully in

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

at by-election in 1854, and in West Worcestershire at the 1874 general election. At the 1880 general election he was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for East Worcestershire, and was re-elected in 1885 and as a

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a politic ...

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

. He held the seat until 1892, when he was expelled from the

and convicted of

fraudulent conversion Criminal conversion is a crime, limited to parts of common law systems outside England and Wales, of exerting unauthorized use or control of someone else's property, at a minimum personal property, but in some jurisdictions also applying to types ...

. As a Trustee for property under the will of John Brown, he had appropriated over £20,000 from the estate, leaving Brown's four children with £7,000. Hastings married firstly Catherine Anna Mence, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Mence, rector of Ulcombe Kent in 1858. She died in 1871 and he married again in 1877 to Frances Anna Pillans, daughter of the Rev. William Huntingdon Pillans, Rector of Himley. His son Major William George Warren Hastings married

Hazel Hastings Hazel Mary Hastings born Hazel Mary Daunais (November 8, 1897 – January 27, 1993) was a Canadian teacher and Roman Catholic laywoman. Life Hastings was born in Battleford in 1897. She had an unusual childhood as her father died in 1901 and he ...

in 1919. He died on 21 October 1917 aged 92.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, George 1825 births 1917 deaths Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge British politicians convicted of fraud Deputy Lieutenants of Herefordshire English fraudsters English politicians convicted of crimes Expelled members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Members of the Middle Temple People educated at Bromsgrove School UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 19th-century English businesspeople