Franklin Thomasson (16 August 1873 – 29 October 1941) was an English 20th century MP. Descended from a well known family of cotton spinners from

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Franklin Thomasson was born on 16 August 1873 at Alderley Edge, Cheshire, the 3rd child of

John Pennington Thomasson John Pennington Thomasson (19 May 1841, in Bolton – 16 May 1904, in Heaton, Greater Manchester) was an English cotton spinner and Liberal Party politician. He was elected as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton at the 1880 general election ...

, who was a benefactor and MP for Bolton. He married Elizabeth, a daughter of the late Caleb Coffin of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on 11 July 1895. They had 3 children, John (1898), Marjorie (1901) and Barbara (1903). Franklin contested the

Westhoughton Westhoughton ( ) is a List of towns in England, town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southwest of Bolton, east of Wigan and northwest of Manchester.Stretford Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located south of Manchester, south of Salfo ...

in 1901, but on both occasions he was unsuccessful. He became Liberal MP for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

at a by-election in 1906, however, sharing the representation of the double-member constituency with

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

. He retired at the January 1910 election. In 1906, Thomasson ventured on a bold but disastrous experiment in newspaper production by founding the ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

'' (1906–1908). He played a large part in local political life before he left Bolton for London. During World War I he commanded the 2-5th Battalion

Loyal North Lancashire Regiment The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (until 1921 known as the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Lancashire Re ...

. His wife Elizabeth died in 1927 and he then married Gertrude Prescott. They had three children, Margaret (1930), Christopher (1932) and Jenny (1937). Franklin died of cancer on 29 October 1941 aged 68 and was buried at

Lyndhurst, Hampshire Lyndhurst is a large village and civil parish situated in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England, about nine miles () south-west of Southampton. Known as the "Capital of the New Forest", Lyndhurst houses the New Forest District, Ne ...

References

*Bolton Journal and Guardian 4 August 1933 *

External links

* People educated at Bolton School Politicians from Bolton Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 1873 births 1941 deaths Military personnel from the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton British Army personnel of World War I Loyal Regiment officers Burials in Hampshire Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub