Thomas Eustace Smith (1831–1903) was an English shipping magnate and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician.

Biography

He was elected at the 1868 general election as the

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 Tynemouth and North Shields, having stood unsuccessfully in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

at the 1865 general election. He was re-elected in Tynemouth and North Shields at the

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndash ...

and 1880 elections, and retired from 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 ...

when the constituency was abolished at the 1885 general election. His father William Smith of Benton was a ropemaker. Thomas Eustace Smith married Martha Mary Dalrymple, known as an art patron, in 1855. They had six daughters and four sons. Through

Ashton Wentworth Dilke Ashton Wentworth Dilke (11 August 1850 – 12 March 1883) was an editor, British traveller and radical Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1883. Life Dilke was the younger son of Sir Charles Dilke, 1st Baronet, and w ...

, who married the eldest daughter Maye (Margaret), Martha (known also as Ellen) came to meet his brother

Charles Dilke Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet, PC (4 September 1843 – 26 January 1911) was an English Liberal and Radical politician. A republican in the early 1870s, he later became a leader in the radical challenge to Whig control of the Libe ...

. The implications of the sex scandal involving Charles Dilke that later came to court (in the form of the divorce case between

Donald Crawford Donald Crawford KC FRSE (5 May 1837–1 January 1919) was a Scottish advocate who became a United Kingdom Liberal MP. He sat for the constituency of Lanarkshire North-East from 1885 to 1895. Life He was born on 3 May 1837, the son of Ale ...

and his wife

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, another of their daughters) later undermined the Smiths' social position, since there were broad hints of adultery between Ellen and Charles Dilke.

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

, ''Dilke: A Victorian Tragedy'' (1996), p. 112, p. 237.

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, Smith ée Dalrymple Martha Mary ustacia(1835–1919), art patron by Timothy Wilcox. (Article on his wife.)

External links

* 1831 births 1903 deaths British businesspeople in shipping Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 19th-century English businesspeople {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub