Sir Robert Pearce (15 January 1840 – 29 September 1922)[1] was a British Liberal Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for all but one of the years from 1906 to 1918, and was an early advocate in Parliament of daylight saving time.
Early life and family
[edit]Pearce was born in Ipswich in Suffolk to Joseph Pearce and his wife Frances Margaret née Hayward, and was educated at Ipswich Grammar School. He qualified as a solicitor and became a partner in the firm of Pearce, Bradshaw and Capper, of Fore Street in London.[2]
Pearce married twice, first in 1880 to Elizabeth Deane, who died in 1910, and then in 1914 to Margaret W. Exton.[2] He lived in Hampstead and was a member of the National Liberal Club and the City Reform Club.[2]
Political career
[edit]At the 1906 general election Pearce was elected for the MP for the Leek division of Staffordshire,[3][4] having contested the seat unsuccessfully in 1895 and 1900.[4] He introduced the Daylight Saving Bill to the House of Commons on 12 February 1908.[5]
Pearce was defeated at the January 1910 election, losing by only 10 votes (out of over 10,000) to the Conservative candidate Arthur Heath.[4] Heath did not stand again in December 1910, when Pearce retook the seat,[4][6] holding it until he retired from Parliament at the next election in December 1918,[7] aged 78.
Pearce was knighted in 1916.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)
- ^ a b c d "W. Bromfield (Staffordshire, Leek Division)". Debrett's illustrated House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1918. via the Wayback Machine. p. 128. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "No. 27885". The London Gazette. 13 February 1906. p. 1045.
- ^ a b c d Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 387. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
- ^ "Daylight Saving Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 12 February 1908. col. 155–156. Archived from the original on 2 July 2009.
- ^ "No. 28449". The London Gazette. 23 December 1910. p. 9555.
- ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 463. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.