George Goodman (politician)
Sir George Goodman (17 November 1791 – 13 October 1859)[2] was an English wool-stapler,[3] a magistrate for the borough and county of Leeds,[4] as well as a Liberal politician. On 1 January 1836, he was elected the first Mayor of Leeds after the Municipal Corporations Act 1835,[3] and he served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds from 1852 to 1857.[2]
Sir George Goodman | |
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Sir George Goodman, Mayor of Leeds | |
Member of Parliament | |
In office 1852–1857 | |
Monarch | Victoria |
Personal details | |
Born | 17 November 1791[1] Leeds, Yorkshire, England |
Died | 13 October 1859 (aged 67) Roundhay, Yorkshire, England |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Whig |
Early years
Goodman was born in Leeds, the son of Benjamin Goodman (d. 10 June 1848), a wool merchant, and his wife, Ann Radford. He was baptised at Leeds South Parade Baptist Church[1] and remained a Baptist.[5] He had at least one sibling, a sister Eleanor (1791–1877).
Career
Goodman started his career learning his father's business and becoming a partner in his father's firm of B. Goodman & Sons at 21 Hunslet Lane, Leeds.[7] He prospered as a wool-stapler in Leeds and Bradford,[3] and was a Director of the Leeds and Bradford Railway.[8] His firm acquired other local firms including, in 1846, Thomas Pearson and Sons, manufacturers of worsted.[9]
He was elected Mayor of Leeds on 1 January 1836, the first Mayor of the City of Leeds after the Municipal Corporations Act. In April, he was presented a gold chain with an inscribed pendant to honour his mayoral election. Following the resignation of C. G. Maclea, Goodman was again elected mayor on 1 January 1847 and left office on 9 November 1847. He was re-elected for a third term on 9 November 1850, and a fourth term on 9 November 1851. He resigned from his position as mayor in March 1852 in order to be eligible to run for Parliament.[3]
A Whig,[10] Goodman was elected to Parliament with Matthew Talbot Baines in 1852. He was a magistrate of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and appointed a deputy lieutenant on 27 January 1853.[11][12] In 1853, Goodman served as Leeds' civic representative at the 1851 The Great Exhibition, after which, on 26 February 1852, he was knighted at Buckingham Palace, shortly before his resignation as mayor.[13][3] Goodman sat for the Borough of Leeds in the House of Commons for five years, beginning at the 1852 general election,[14] before retiring upon the 1857 dissolution of Parliament because of poor health brought about by a stroke of paralysis and neuralgia.[10][15]
Personal life
Goodman was a member of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society. He once made a donation to the society of fourteen birds from Australia.[16] Goodman never married. The Gentleman's Magazine reported that he died on 13 October 1859 at his seat, Roundhay, near Leeds aged 67.[17] He inherited his father's Roundhay estate, which was renamed Beechwood by Francis Lupton who had purchased the estate by 1860, following George's death.[18] Goodman, a Baptist, was interred at Whitkirk Church.[19] In compliance with Goodman's request, an autopsy was conducted, revealing softened spinal marrow.[6]
References
- England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)
- Wheater, William; Smith, William (1882). Old Yorkshire. 3 (Digitized 5 June 2007 ed.). Longmans, Green. p. 203.
- Leeds man, pp. 61
- Cobden, Richard (2010). The Letters of Richard Cobden: Volume II: 1848-1853. OUP Oxford. p. 381. ISBN 9780199211968. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- Brewer, Rev. Dr. E. Cogham (1860). Memoir of Sir George Goodman, Knt., Leeds. The Baptist Magazine (Digitized 16 October 2006 ed.). p. 29.
- Garton, Steve (27 March 2010). "Transcript of the entry of "professions and trades" for LEEDS in Pigot's Directory of 1834". genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
- The Railway directory for 1845, containing the names of the directors and principal officers, of the railways in Great Britain & Ireland (Digitized 12 October 2007 ed.). London: Railway Times Office. 1844. p. 39.
- "No. 20657". The London Gazette. 6 November 1846. p. 3895.
- Leeds man (1868). Memoirs of eminent men of Leeds (Digitized 2 September 2005 ed.). G.J. Berger. p. 60.
- "No. 21411". The London Gazette. 15 February 1853. p. 408.
- Dod, Charles Roger (1857). The Peerage, baronetage, and knightage of Great Britain and Ireland, for ...: including all the titled classes (Digitized 4 May 2009 ed.). Whittaker and Co. p. 275.
- "No. 21298". The London Gazette. 5 March 1852. p. 698.
- Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 177. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
- Taylor, p. 478
- Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (1820). Report of the council (Digitized 5 April 2007 ed.). The Society. p. 22.
- "Obituary - Death of Sir George Goodman". The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 207. R. Newton. 13 October 1859. p. 546. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- Hurworth, Neville (2014). "The Goodman family of Hunslet, Gledhow and Roundhay" (PDF). OAKWOOD AND DISTRICT AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY - Oakleaves, Part 14. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- The Yorkshire magazine: a monthly literary magazine. 3–4 (Digitized 20 July 2009 ed.). Yorkshire Literary Union. 1874. p. 137.
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir George Goodman
Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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Preceded by William Beckett James Garth Marshall |
Member of Parliament for Leeds 1852 – 1857 With: Matthew Talbot Baines |
Succeeded by Robert Hall Matthew Talbot Baines |