William Henry Leatham 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...

 banker, poet and Liberal

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...

 politician.

He was a member of a Yorkshire Quaker family. His father was William Leatham, a banker from Heath, near Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

 and his mother was Margaret née Walker of Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

.

Leatham entered banking, working in Wakefield, Pontefract

Pontefract

Pontefract is an historic market town in West Yorkshire, England. Traditionally in the West Riding, near the A1 , the M62 motorway and Castleford. It is one of the five towns in the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield and has a population of 28,250...

 and Doncaster

Doncaster

Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...

 from 1836 to 1852. In 1839 he married Priscilla Gurney of Upton, West Ham

West Ham

West Ham is in the London Borough of Newham in London, England. In the west it is a post-industrial neighbourhood abutting the site of the London Olympic Park and in the east it is mostly residential, consisting of Victorian terraced housing interspersed with higher density post-War social housing...

. He was a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 and deputy lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 for the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, and in 1870 was deputy chairman of the West Riding quarter sessions

Quarter Sessions

The Courts of Quarter Sessions or Quarter Sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the United Kingdom and other countries in the former British Empire...

. He made his home at Hemsworth Hall, Pontefract.

Leatham was a poet and author, writing a collection of Poems in 1840, and Tales of English Life and Miscellanies.

Politically, he was described as an "advanced Whig", and first stood for election to parliament in at Wakefield

Wakefield (UK Parliament constituency)

Wakefield is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 in 1852

United Kingdom general election, 1852

The July 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed election in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising...

, but failed to win the seat. He was subsequently elected as MP for Wakefield in 1859

United Kingdom general election, 1859

In the 1859 United Kingdom general election, the Whigs, led by Lord Palmerston, held their majority in the House of Commons over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives...

, but was unseated on petition. Six years later

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...

, he was again the Liberal candidate at Wakefield, and was elected as the town's 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,...

. He left the Commons 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...

. 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 *...

 he was again a parliamentary candidate, this time for the two-seat Southern Division of the West Riding

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...

, but failed to be elected. Six years later, in 1880

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 *...

, he was successfully returned to parliament for the constuituency. In 1885

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885

The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...

 the seat was abolished, and Leatham left parliament.

His younger brother, Edward Aldam Leatham

Edward Aldam Leatham

Edward Aldam Leatham was an English Liberal politician.Leatham was the son of William Leatham of Heath near Wakefield, and his wife Margaret Walker. The family was part of an influential Quaker community in Yorkshire. He was a scholar and published Charmione: a tale of the great Athenian...

, was MP for Huddersfield

Huddersfield (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...

.

W H Leatham died in November 1889, aged 74.

External links