Thomas Eustace Smith (1831–1903) was an English shipping magnate and

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.

Biography

He was elected at the 1868 general election as the member of parliament (MP) for Tynemouth and North Shields, having stood unsuccessfully in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

at the 1865 general election. He was re-elected in Tynemouth and North Shields at the 1874 and 1880 elections, and retired from the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

when the constituency was abolished at the 1885 general election. His father William Smith of Benton was a ropemaker. Thomas Eustace Smith married Martha Mary Dalrymple, known as an art patron, in 1855. They had six daughters and four sons. Through Ashton Wentworth Dilke, who married the eldest daughter Maye (Margaret), Martha (known also as Ellen) came to meet his brother Charles Dilke. The implications of the sex scandal involving Charles Dilke that later came to court (in the form of the divorce case between Donald Crawford and his wife

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, another of their daughters) later undermined the Smiths' social position, since there were broad hints of adultery between Ellen and Charles Dilke.

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

, ''Dilke: A Victorian Tragedy'' (1996), p. 112, p. 237.

References

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Smith ée Dalrymple Martha Mary ustacia(1835–1919), art patron by Timothy Wilcox. (Article on his wife.)

External links

* 1831 births 1903 deaths English businesspeople in shipping Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 19th-century English businesspeople {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub