Richard Arkwright junior: Difference between revisions
move ref |
|||
Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
| first = David R. |
| first = David R. |
||
| last = Fisher |
| last = Fisher |
||
| title = ARKWRIGHT, Richard (1781-1832), of Normanton Turville, Leics. and Sutton Hall, Derbys |
|||
| url = http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/arkwright-richard-1781-1832 |
|||
| work = The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832 |
|||
| editor = D.R. Fisher |
|||
| publisher = Cambridge University Press |
|||
| accessdate = 17 June 2014 |
|||
| year = 2009 |
|||
}}</ref> |
|||
==Portrait== |
==Portrait== |
Revision as of 16:19, 6 November 2014
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Richard_Arkwright_Junior.jpg/220px-Richard_Arkwright_Junior.jpg)
Richard Arkwright junior (19 December 1755 – 23 April 1843[1]), the son of Sir Richard Arkwright of Cromford, Derbyshire, was the financier (creditor) of Samuel Oldknow of Marple and Mellor and a personal friend. His son Captain Arkwright married Francis Kemble, daughter of the theatre manager Stephen Kemble.
Biography
Richard Arkwright junior was born in Bolton. His mother, Patience Holt, died when he was only a few months and his father, Richard Arkwright, raised him on his own until he was six, and married Margaret Biggensin, with whom he had a daughter, Susan. The couple divorced a few years later, but Richard Arkwright senior tried to follow the education of his children.[2][3]
Sir Richard had earlier patented the water frame, a roller-spinning machine powered by water, that turned textile spinning into a factory industry and in so doing he founded the factory system of manufacture.
Richard Arkwright junior followed in his illustrious father’s footsteps and he developed the factory system even further. He was an outstanding organiser of labour and machinery processing, ambitious, forceful and persevering.
The wealth of Arkwright, much greater than that of his father, was not only due to the textile industry. After his father died, much of the legacy was bequeathed to his daughter born of his second marriage, her grandchildren and various charities, while the rest, including a number of factories, was bequeathed to son Richard. He decided to invest in real estate and banks, and began to sell some factories to invest in government securities and real estate. This saved him from bankruptcy when a major economic depression descended upon Great Britain, after the defeat of Napoleon.[2]
In 1804 he became a partner in the bank of John Toplis, and when the latter died his death in 1829, he took full possession of the company and financed local lords, contractors and governmental plans: like his father, he financed important works in the public transportation sector and railways, including the Cromford Canal. At his death he was at the head of a fortune amounting to over three million pounds, which made him the richest British man from the bourgeoisie.[4]
Arkwright was the High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1801.[5][6]
His son Richard (1781–1832) was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Rye from 1813 to 1818, and from 1826 to 1830.Cite error: A <ref>
tag is missing the closing </ref>
(see the help page). The painting was sold at Sotheby’s on 29 November 2001.[7]
In 2003, the painting was to be moved to the United States but the Derby Museum launched a petition to keep it in its home country. It is a cornerstone to the society.[8] The Arkwright Society, which was also concerned about the departure of the painting, took an active part in this campaign and the picture eventually remained in England.[9]
References
- ^ http://www.cromfordvillage.co.uk/arkwrights.html
- ^ a b David Jenkins (2001). "Quiet Millionaire".
- ^ The Arkwright Family in Cromford Cromford Village
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
MUS
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Burkes Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry (1847)
- ^ Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal, Marquis of Ruvigny, 1994, ISBN 0-8063-1434-6, accessed 11 September 2008
- ^ Derbyshire.gov.uk Accessed 2 June 2008
- ^ Why this work should be saved Daily Telegraph 7.7.2003
- ^ Meeting John Arkwright Arkwright Society 2004