Henry Richard Farquharson

Henry Richard Farquharson (1857 – 19 April 1895)[1] was an English landowner and Conservative politician.

The Right Honourable Henry Richard Farquharson PC
Member of Parliament for West Dorset
In office 1885 – 19 April 1895
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Robert Williams
Personal details
Born	1857 Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Died	19 April 1895 (aged 37–38) Red Sea, Indian Ocean
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Constance Farquharson (1878-1895; his death)
Occupation	Landowner

Farquharson was born at Brighton and became the owner of a large estate at Eastbury House, Tarrant Gunville (near Blandford Forum in Dorset). He was a keen breeder of Newfoundland dogs and had a pack of one hundred and twenty five. He imported them through the port of Poole, Dorset and had a Crufts winner.[2]

He was elected at the 1885 general election as Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dorset, and held the seat until his death.[3] In 1891, an unnamed West of England M.P., now believed to have been Henry Richard Farquharson, was mentioned in a newspaper article as claiming that Jack the Ripper, the infamous murderer in the impoverished Whitechapel District in the East End of London, was the son of a surgeon and that he committed suicide after he had committed murder of Mary Jane Kelly on the night of 9 November 1888.[4] It is believed that the reference was to Montague John Druitt, a fellow West County man, who committed suicide at the end of November 1888 and whose body was retrieved from the Thames at Chiswick a month later. Druitt was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England, the second son of prominent local surgeon William Druitt, and his wife Ann (née Harvey).[5]

In the 1892 election, Farquharson libelled his opponent C. T. Gatty, and was forced to pay £5000 damages a year later.[6]

He died on 19 April 1895, in the Red Sea, on a voyage home from Colombo, Ceylon.[7]

References

1. "Historical list of MPs: constituencies beginning with D, part 2". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
2. Dorset Online Parish Clerks - Tarrant Gunville
3. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 266. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
4. [Bristol Times and Mirror, 11 February 1891]
5. [Begg, Paul, Martin Fido, Keith Skinner, The Jack the Ripper A to Z. London: John Blake, 2010, pp. 146, 163]
6. The West Australian, 22 June 1893
7. [The Times, 24 April 1895]

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Henry Farquharson