Sir John Potter (10 April 1815 – 25 October 1858) was a

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. For example, while the political systems ...

politician in the United Kingdom.

Early life

John was born in April 1815 at Polefield near

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

, Lancashire. He was the elder son of Sir Thomas Potter and his second wife, Esther née Bayley. His father was involved in business and politics in the rapidly developing town of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and was named as the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

's first mayor when it was granted a

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. John grew up on the family estate at Buile Hill, Pendleton after its completion in 1827. He was educated at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Political career

Potter took no part in public life until the death of his father in March 1845. He was given his father's

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

ic seat on Manchester Town Council and made a justice of the peace for the borough. He elected to serve as Mayor of Manchester in 1848, serving three terms until 1851. During the visit of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

to Manchester he was invested as a

knight bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

on 10 October 1851. In the same year he was made deputy lieutenant of the County Palatine of Lancaster. During his term of office, the Free Library was founded—an institution to which he made several donations. In politics he was stated to be an "Advanced Liberal" in favour of the widening of the electoral franchise. He was a member of the

Portico Library The Portico Library, The Portico or Portico Library and Gallery on Mosley Street in Manchester, England, is an independent subscription library designed in the Greek Revival style by Thomas Harrison of Chester and built between 1802 and 1806. ...

and continued to be a member of Manchester Town Council until his death. He was the head of Potter, Morris & Company, a large firm of Manchester merchants. The greatest of his many contributions to Manchester was the founding of its Free Library. Queen Victoria visited Manchester in 1851 and during the course of that visit she conferred on him the honour of a knighthood on 10 October 1851. At the 1857 general election, he was elected as one two members of parliament (MPs) for

. However, he suffered from ill health from the time he entered parliament, and declared his intention to resign his seat.

Death

Sir John died in office on 25 October 1858 at the age of 43 at Beech House, Eccles. He was buried at Ardwick Cemetery, Manchester.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, John 1815 births 1858 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 Lord mayors of Manchester Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Knights Bachelor Deputy lieutenants of Lancashire

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Manchester