Arthur Anthony Baumann (9 January 1856 – 20 June 1936) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

lawyer, author, newspaper editor, businessman and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Career overview

Baumann was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, and was the second son of William Baumann, a merchant in the city. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, graduating 2nd Class in Classical Greats in 1879. While at university he was active in the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

, serving as president and treasurer and showing oratical and debating skills. He was called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1881, and practiced at the Parliamentary Bar.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref> In

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 &ndash ...

Baumann was elected

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vill ...

, and was re-elected when a further general election was held in

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 ...

. At the next general election in 1892 he instead contested the seat of Salford North, but failed to be elected. He was described in his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' as "not a success" in parliament. He initially returned to his legal practice, but in 1895 changed career and entered business in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

as a director of a number of public companies. From 1917 to 1921 he was the editor of the '' Saturday Review''. He was known for his lively use of invective and his very Conservative views, a fact recalled on his death:

"Politically he never varied from his allegiance to the extreme Right, and in his books and articles, by which he is chiefly known to the public, he did not spare his chiefs whenever they strayed from the true faith of Conservatism as he understood it."

Baumann never married, and died at the age of 80. He was cremated at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

Works

* (1893)
''Betterment, Being the Law of Special Assessment for Benefits in America''
Edward Arnold. * (1905)
Contributed a memoir of his friend, the writer and poet, Armine Kent, in ''Otia: Poems, Essays and Reviews''
Bodley Head * (1916)
''Persons and Politics of the Transition''
Macmillan & Co. * (1927)
''The Last Victorians''
J. B. Lippincott Company. * (1930)
''Burke: the Founder of Conservatism''
Eyre and Spottiswoode. * (1936).
Personalities; a selection from the writings of A. A. Baumann
', edited by

Humbert Wolfe Humbert Wolfe CB CBE (5 January 1885 – 5 January 1940) was an Italian-born British poet, man of letters and civil servant. Biography Humbert Wolfe was born in Milan, Italy, and came from a Jewish family background,"Wolfe, Humbert" in Stanley J ...

, Macmillan & Co.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumann, Arthur Anthony 1856 births 1936 deaths People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 Presidents of the Oxford Union