Thomas Knowles

Thomas Knowles (30 May 1824 – 3 December 1883) was an English businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1883.

Knowles was in business in Lancashire with interests in coal mining, cotton spinning and bleaching. He was chairman of Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company and a director of the London and North Western Railway. He was a J.P. for Lancashire and Cheshire. In 1864 and 1865, he was Mayor of Wigan.

At the 1874 general election Knowles was elected Member of Parliament for Wigan. He held the seat until his death at the age of 59 in 1883.

Knowles married firstly Mary Foster in 1846 and secondly Mary Longworth in 1866, daughter of William Longworth of Little Bolton, Lancashire. The brothers Thomas Fielden and Edward Brocklehurst Fielden, both themselves Members of Parliament, were sons-in-law

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Thomas Knowles

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Henry Woods John Lancaster	Member of Parliament for Wigan 1874 – 1883 With: Lord Lindsay to 1881 Francis Powell 1881 Writ suspended 1881–1882 Hon. Algernon Fulke Egerton from 1882	Succeeded by Nathaniel Eckersley Hon. Algernon Fulke Egerton