Acton Smee Ayrton (5 August 1816 – 30 November 1886) was a British barrister and Liberal Party politician. Considered a radical and champion of the working classes, he served as First Commissioner of Works under William Ewart Gladstone between 1869 and 1873. He is best remembered for the "Ayrton controversy" over scientific facilities at Kew Gardens.
Acton Smee Ayrton | |
|---|---|
 Caricature by Ape published in Vanity Fair in 1869. | |
| First Commissioner of Works | |
| In office 26 October 1869 – 11 August 1873 | |
| Monarch | Queen Victoria |
| Prime Minister | William Ewart Gladstone |
| Preceded by | Austen Henry Layard |
| Succeeded by | William Patrick Adam |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 August 1816 |
| Died | 30 November 1886 (aged 70) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal |
Family
editAyrton was the uncle of the physicist and electrical engineer William Edward Ayrton.[citation needed]
Political and legal career
editAyrton practised as a solicitor in Bombay, British India, and was called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1853.[1] In 1857 he was elected Member of Parliament for Tower Hamlets, a seat he held until 1874.[2] He held office in William Ewart Gladstone's first administration as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1868 to 1869 and as First Commissioner of Works from 1869 to 1873 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1869.[3]
Ayrton is best remembered for the so-called "Ayrton controversy". In an attempt, in the early 1870s, to reduce Government spending, Ayrton (as First Commissioner of Works) encouraged a proposal that the costly scientific functions of Kew Gardens should be transferred and that the gardens should be retained purely as a public park. This prompted a confrontation with Joseph Dalton Hooker (Director at Kew), who enlisted the support of Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, amongst other scientific luminaries. After debates in both Houses of Parliament, Ayrton was transferred to the post of Judge Advocate General and the proposal failed.[4]
Ayrton remained as Judge Advocate General until the Gladstone government fell in February 1874. He lost his seat in parliament in the general election of that year and never returned to the House of Commons.
In the Palace of Westminster the lantern at the top of the Elizabeth Tower (commonly called Big Ben) is called the Ayrton Light, lit when either House of Parliament is sitting after dark. It was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria so that she could see from Buckingham Palace when the members were sitting and named after Ayrton.[5][6]
Personal life
editFor the last few years of his life, he was a daily frequenter of the Reform Club. He died at the Mount Dore Hotel, Bournemouth, on 30 November 1886.[7]
He is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London.[8]
References
edit- ^ The Handbook of the Court; the Peerage; and the House of Commons. 1862. p. 302. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ^ "House of Commons: Tipperary South to Tyrone West". leighrayment.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "No. 23554". The London Gazette. 12 November 1869. p. 6033.
- ^ "A Botanical career". Hooker's Biography. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- ^ Jones, Christopher (1983). The Great Palace: The Story of Parliament. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. ISBN 978-0563201786., pp. 112–3.
- ^ "Elizabeth Tower virtual tour". UK Parliament. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ Courtney 1901.
- ^ www.brompton.org Archived 23 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Courtney, William Prideaux (1901). "Ayrton, Acton Smee". In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). London: Smith, Elder & Co.
External links
edit- Caricatures of Acton Smee Ayrton at the National Portrait Gallery
- Hutchinson, John (1902). . A catalogue of notable Middle Templars, with brief biographical notices (1 ed.). Canterbury: the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. p. 10.