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

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 colonial administrator and Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 politician.

He was the second son of Edmund Beckett Denison

Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet

Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet , known until 1816 as Edmund Beckett and from 1816 until 1872 as Edmund Beckett Denison, was a younger son of Sir John Beckett, 1st Baronet and brother of Sir John Beckett, 2nd Baronet....

 and his wife Maria née Beverley, of Grimsthorpe

Grimsthorpe

Grimsthorpe is a hamlet in Lincolnshire, England situated about north-west of Bourne on the A151. It falls within the parish of Edenham Grimsthorpe Elsthorpe & Scottlethorpe.Nearby is Grimsthorpe Castle....

, Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

. His father was twice elected as the member of parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency in England from 1832 to 1865. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries and History:...

.

Christopher was educated at Durham

Durham School

Durham School, headmaster Martin George , is an independent British day and boarding school for boys and girls in Durham....

 and Uppingham School

Uppingham School

Uppingham School is a co-educational independent school of the English public school tradition, situated in the small town of Uppingham in Rutland, England...

s and the East India Company College

East India Company College

The East India College was a college in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire, England. It was founded in February 1806 as the training establishment for the British East India Company . At that time, the BEIC provided general and vocational education for young gentlemen of sixteen to eighteen years old,...

. In 1845 he entered the Indian Civil Service and was a civil commissioner in the Punjab

Punjab region

The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...

 and Oudh

Awadh

Awadh , also known in various British historical texts as Oudh or Oude derived from Ayodhya, is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh...

. With the outbreak of the Indian Rebellion of 1857

Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...

, Denison was attached to the East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

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

Siege of Lucknow

The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...

.

By 1865 he had returned to England, where he succeeded his father as a director of the Great Northern Railway

Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)

The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....

. In the same year a general election was called

United Kingdom general election, 1865

The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...

, and Denison was chosen in June as one of two Conservative candidates for the two-member Southern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire

Southern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Southern West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency covering part of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.- History :The constituency was created...

. It was initially thought that there would be an uncontested election, with the two Conservatives returned unopposed. However, the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 subsequently nominated candidates, and Denison failed to be elected, finishing third in the poll.

At the next general election in 1868

United Kingdom general election, 1868

The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...

, Denison was again chosen to stand for parliament in the Conservative interest. Parliamentary boundaries had been altered by the Reform Act 1867

Reform Act 1867

The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....

, and he contested the new two-seat Eastern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire

Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Eastern West Riding of Yorkshire was a parliamentary constituency covering part of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bloc vote system.- History :The constituency was created...

. He and his fellow Conservative Joshua Fielden

Joshua Fielden (politician)

Joshua Fielden was a British cotton manufacturer and Conservative politician.Fielden was the son of the Radical politician John Fielden of Todmorden, and his first wife, Anne Grindrod of Rochdale. He was born in Todmorden, and after education at a Unitarian school in Switzerland, returned to...

 were elected to serve in the Commons. They retained their seats at the ensuing election in 1874

United Kingdom general election, 1874

-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

. The Liberals took both seats in the constituency at the 1880 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1880

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

, 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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