Sir Arthur Horne Goldfinch (10 May 1866 – 9 November 1945), was a British businessman and Liberal Party politician.

Background

Goldfinch was born in Valparaiso, Chile. He was unmarried. He was knighted in 1918.[1]

Professional career

Goldfinch entered the service of Duncan, Fox & Co., General Merchants, Valparaiso, in 1881. He became a partner of that firm (Liverpool, London, Chile, and Peru) in 1903. He retired from business in 1913. He was Director of Raw Materials at the War Office from 1917–21. He was Chairman of the London Board of British-Australian Wool Realisation Association from 1921–26.[2]

Political career

Goldfinch was prospective Liberal candidate for Colchester division of Essex from 1914–18.[3] Colchester was a Unionist seat that had been won by a Liberal in 1895, 1900 and 1906. He was selected in June 1914 to run in a General Election expected to take place in 1915.[4] The outbreak of war postponed the election but he remained as prospective candidate until 1918. He did not contest the 1918 General Election when endorsement from the Coalition Government went to his Unionist opponent. Neither did he run at the 1922 General Election when there was again no Liberal candidate in Colchester. He finally ran as Liberal candidate for Colchester at the 1923 General Election. However, by then, the Labour Party had entrenched itself as the main challenger and he finished third. He did not stand for parliament again.[5]

Electoral record

General Election 1923: Colchester [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Laming Worthington-Evans 10,535 43.4 -13.3
Labour Richard Reiss 8,316 34.2 -9.1
Liberal Arthur Horne Goldfinch 5,430 22.4 n/a
Majority 2,219 9.2 -4.2
Turnout 78.2
Unionist hold Swing -2.1

References

  1. ↑ ‘GOLDFINCH, Sir Arthur Horne’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 29 Nov 2016
  2. ↑ ‘GOLDFINCH, Sir Arthur Horne’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 29 Nov 2016
  3. ↑ ‘GOLDFINCH, Sir Arthur Horne’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 2014 accessed 29 Nov 2016
  4. ↑ Essex Newsman 20 June 1914
  5. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  6. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
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