Robert Gordon Sharman-Crawford PC (8 September 1853 – 20 March 1934) was a unionist politician in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Sharman-Crawford studied at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

before becoming an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and managing the family estates. He served in the

16th Lancers The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early wa ...

until he resigned from regular service, and on 2 December 1898 was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd (

Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

) battalion of the

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal ...

. He was granted the honorary rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

on 14 February 1900. He was elected for the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

at the Belfast East by-election in April 1914, although the seat was abolished in

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. He returned to Parliament at the Mid Down by-election in July 1921 but, the following year, this seat was also abolished. In 1921, he was also elected to the

Senate of Northern Ireland The Senate of Northern Ireland was the upper house of the Parliament of Northern Ireland created by the Government of Ireland Act 1920. It was abolished with the passing of the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. Powers In practice the Se ...

, and served until his death in 1934.John F. Harbinson, ''The Ulster Unionist Party, 1882-1973'', p.205

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharman-Crawford, Robert 1853 births 1934 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1921–1925 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1925–1929 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1929–1933 Members of the Senate of Northern Ireland 1933–1937 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1918–1922 Ulster Unionist Party MPs Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Belfast constituencies (1801–1922) 16th The Queen's Lancers officers Ulster Unionist Party members of the Senate of Northern Ireland