Christopher Beckett Denison (9 May 1825 – 30 October 1884) was a British colonial administrator and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician. He was the second son of Edmund Beckett Denison and his wife Maria née Beverley, of

Grimsthorpe Grimsthorpe is a hamlet in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the A151 road, and north-west from Bourne. Grimsthorpe falls within the civil parish of Edenham, which is governed by Edenham Grimsthorpe Elstho ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. His father was twice elected 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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. Christopher was educated at

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils ...

and

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headm ...

s and the

East India Company College The East India Company College, or East India College, was an educational establishment situated at Hailey, Hertfordshire, nineteen miles north of London, founded in 1806 to train "writers" (administrators) for the Honourable East India Company ( ...

. In 1845 he entered the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

and was a civil commissioner in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

. With the outbreak of the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, Denison was attached to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

's military forces. He was awarded a medal and clasp for his actions during the

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British The Residency, Lucknow, Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel Sepoy, sepoys (Indian soldiers in the East India Company, British East India Company's Army) during the Indian ...

. By 1865 he had returned to England, where he succeeded his father as a director of the Great Northern Railway. In the same year a general election was called, and Denison was chosen in June as one of two Conservative candidates for the two-member Southern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was initially thought that there would be an uncontested election, with the two Conservatives returned unopposed. However, the

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 l ...

subsequently nominated candidates, and Denison failed to be elected, finishing third in the poll. At the next general election in 1868, Denison was again chosen to stand for parliament in the Conservative interest. Parliamentary boundaries had been altered by the

Reform Act 1867 The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 (known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act) was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the first ...

, and he contested the new two-seat Eastern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire. He and his fellow Conservative Joshua Fielden were elected to serve in the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

. They retained their seats at the ensuing election in 1874. The Liberals took both seats in the constituency at the 1880 general election, Fielden having retired while Denison was beaten into third place. Denison was unmarried. He died suddenly in Ireland in October 1884, aged 59.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denison, Christopher 1825 births 1884 deaths Younger sons of baronets Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 People educated at Durham School People educated at Uppingham School