Charles William Selwyn

Captain Charles William Selwyn (7 March 1858 - 1 March 1893) was a British army officer and Conservative politician.

He was the eldest son of the Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Jasper Selwyn, Lord Justice of Appeal, and his wife Hester née Ravenshaw. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge,[1] before being commissioned in the Royal Horse Guards.[2][3] He served with distinction with the regiment in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War.[2][3] He made his home at Selwyn Court, Richmond, Surrey.[3] In 1884 he married Isabella Constance Dalgety of Locklerley Hall, Romsey, Hampshire.[3]

In 1885 he was selected as Conservative candidate to contest the new constituency of Wisbech, but was defeated by his Liberal opponent John Rigby.[4] A further general election was held in 1886, and Selwyn stood against Rigby again, this time winning the seat to become member of parliament for Wisbech.[5] In October 1890 Selwyn informed the local Conservative and Unionist Association that his health would not allow him to undertake a contested election.[6] His health deteriorated to such a degree that he was forced to resign from the Commons on 4 July 1891 by accepting the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.[7]

He died in Auckland, New Zealand on 1 March 1893[7] and was buried at St John's College, Auckland.[8][9] St John's College was established in 1843 by his uncle George Augustus Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand.

References

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs

  1. "Selwyn, Charles William (SLWN876CW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "News in Brief". The Times. 4 March 1893. p. 7.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Biographies of Candidates". The Times. 26 November 1886. p. 3.
  4. "The General Election". The Times. 27 November 1885. p. 9.
  5. "Election Intelligence". The Times. 18 June 1886. p. 10.
  6. "Election Intelligence". The Times. 3 October 1890. p. 5.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "House of Commons". The Times. 9 July 1891. p. 6.
  8. Otago Witness 9 March 1893
  9. Image of grave in Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Sir John Rigby
Member of Parliament for Wisbech
1886 – 1891
Succeeded by
Arthur Brand