Andrew White (22 January 1792 – 3 October 1856) was a British businessperson and politician.

Life

He was the son of John White (1764–1833) and his wife Jane Young. Born in

Bishopwearmouth Bishopwearmouth () is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is ...

, he followed his father in becoming a shipowner, also owning coal mines and iron and glass factories. He became a magistrate for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and

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 ...

, chair of the directors of the Sunderland Joint Stock Bank, chair of the Sunderland Board of Guardians, a director of the

Durham and Sunderland Railway The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway as well as the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business i ...

, a commissioner of the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in Northern England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers. The Wear wends in a steep valley t ...

and of Sunderland Bridge. He was president of the Sunderland Mechanics' Institute, and of the town's British and Foreign School for Boys. A supporter of the Whigs, White was elected as the first Mayor of Sunderland. He left that office to stand in the 1837 UK general election in

, winning the seat. In Parliament, he supported shorter terms between general elections, the secret ballot, extension of the electoral franchise to all ratepayers, and for a national education system on ecumenical principles. He opposed flogging in the armed forces. He stood down at the 1841 UK general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Andrew 1792 births 1856 deaths Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1837–1841