# Leonard Franklin

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**Sir Leonard Benjamin Franklin** [OBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire) (15 November 1862 – 11 December 1944)[1] was an English [barrister](/source/Barrister), banker, and [Liberal Party](/source/Liberal_Party_(UK)) politician of Jewish descent.

## Family

Franklin was born in London in 1862, the son of [Ellis Abraham Franklin](/source/Ellis_Abraham_Franklin), a banker and his wife Adelaide who was a sister of [Samuel Montagu, 1st Baron Swaythling](/source/Samuel_Montagu,_1st_Baron_Swaythling).[2] In this way, Franklin was born into a Liberal family which also included [Venetia Stanley](/source/Venetia_Stanley_(1887-1948)), famous correspondent of [H H Asquith](/source/H_H_Asquith) and future Liberal Party leader, [Herbert Samuel](/source/Herbert_Samuel,_1st_Viscount_Samuel). In 1888, Franklin married Laura Agnes Ladenburg and they had one son and three daughters.[3]

## Education

Franklin was educated at [King's College School](/source/King's_College_School), London[4] and the Athenée Royale school in [Brussels](/source/Brussels).[2]

## Career

Franklin studied for the law and was [called to the Bar](/source/Called_to_the_Bar) at the [Inner Temple](/source/Inner_Temple) in 1894,[5] although he never practised.[6] In 1892, he had become a partner in the firm of [Keyser & Co](/source/Keyser_Ullman).[7] of [Throgmorton Street](/source/Throgmorton_Street) in the [City of London](/source/City_of_London), foreign bankers and was a senior partner after 1929.[8]

During the First World War, he was appointed as [Local Government Board](/source/Local_Government_Board) representative at [Folkestone](/source/Folkestone) with the task of dealing with the large numbers of refugees from 'gallant little Belgium' when the voluntary War Refugee Committee could no longer cope with the weight of numbers.[9]

For this work he was awarded the [OBE](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire). He was later posted to France to report on the finances of British military hospitals.[2] Franklin also served as a [Justice of the Peace](/source/Justice_of_the_Peace).[10]

## Politics

### Radical interests

Franklin undertook social work in London and was described as an 'ardent Radical.'[2] From 1908, he was Chairman of North Paddington Liberal Association.[11] He served as honorary treasurer of the London Radical Candidates' Association, taking a particular interest housing and traffic.[6]

In 1912, he and his wife Laura founded the [Jewish League for Woman Suffrage](/source/Jewish_League_for_Woman_Suffrage) which campaigned for national women's suffrage and for equal rights for women within the Jewish Faith. They were assisted by the extended Jewish family including [Henrietta Franklin](/source/Henrietta_Franklin) and her sister [Lily Montagu](/source/Lily_Montagu).[12]

### 1908–1922

Franklin first stood for Parliament at the [December 1910 general election](/source/December_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election) as Liberal candidate in [Paddington North](/source/Paddington_North). He did not win the seat but he reduced the majority of the sitting [Unionist](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(UK)), Arthur Strauss from 893 to 598 votes.[13] He fought the seat again at the [1918 general election](/source/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election) but this time, as a supporter of the Independent Asquithian Liberals he was not favoured with the [Coalition coupon](/source/Coalition_coupon) and lost his [deposit](/source/Deposit_(politics)). At this election the former [Tory](/source/Tory) MP, Arthur Strauss, had switched parties and was standing as an Independent Labour candidate. He too lost his deposit.[14]

At the [1922 general election](/source/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election), Franklin fought [St Pancras South East](/source/St_Pancras_South_East) constituency but in a three-cornered contest with Conservative and [Labour](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) opponents, he came bottom of the poll.[15]

### 1923–1939

Franklin achieved the only Parliamentary win of his career at the [1923 general election](/source/1923_United_Kingdom_general_election). Standing in [Central Hackney](/source/Hackney_Central_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) in a three-cornered contest, he obtained a majority over the Conservatives of 1,317 votes.[16]

However, he was unable to hold the seat at the [1924 general election](/source/1924_United_Kingdom_general_election), falling to bottom place as the Tories regained the constituency and Labour jumped into second place. Franklin tried to win the seat back at the [1929 general election](/source/1929_United_Kingdom_general_election) but again came third in a tight three-way contest, although this time it was the Labour Party which won the seat. Franklin's final attempt to regain Hackney Central came in the [1931 general election](/source/1931_United_Kingdom_general_election). He again came third, although this time by a wider margin, as the Conservatives took the seat back from Labour as the representatives of the [National Government](/source/National_Government_(United_Kingdom)).[16] Franklin remained an active supporter of the Liberal Party, playing a prominent role in the activities of the Hackney Central Association, right up until the outbreak of war in 1939.[17]

## Knighthood

Franklin was [knighted](/source/Knighted) in the King's Birthday Honours List of 1932 for political and public services, becoming a [Knight Bachelor](/source/Knight_Bachelor).[18]

## Jewish interests

Much of the social work which Franklin undertook was based in the Jewish community in London[2] and he also held positions in respect of various synagogues. He was a vice-president of the Jewish Workingmen's Club and of the South Hackney Jewish Social and Literary Society.[6]

## Publication

Franklin was a strong supporter of the reform of [proportional representation](/source/Proportional_representation) (PR) and invented a system known as Percentage PR. In 1922, he published the book *Percentage Proportional Representation*.

## Death

Franklin died suddenly at his home, The Grange, [Goudhurst](/source/Goudhurst), Kent on 11 December 1944, aged 82.[6]

## References

1. ["Archived copy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181020202137/http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Hcommons1.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.leighrayment.com/commons/Hcommons1.htm) on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2009.

1. *Who was Who*, OUP 2007

1. Arthur Ellis Franklin, *Records of the Franklin Family and collaterals*; Taylor & Francis, 1915 p. 88

1. The Times, 1 December 1932 p14

1. *The Times*, 7 June 1894, p. 6

1. *The Times*, 13 December 1944, p. 6

1. The Times, 1 January 1892 p9

1. *The Times House of Commons 1931*; Politico's Publishing 2003, p. 21

1. Bernard Wasserstein, *Herbert Samuel: A Political Life*; Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 170.

1. *The Women's who's who*; Shaw Publishing Co., 1934, p. 176

1. The Times, 26 July 1910 p. 12

1. ["Jewish League for Woman Suffrage | Jewish Women's Archive"](https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/jewish-league-for-woman-suffrage). *jwa.org*. Retrieved 2017-11-22.

1. *The Times House of Commons 1911*; Politico's Publishing 2004 p27

1. *The Times House of Commons 1918*; Politico's Publishing 2004 p21

1. F W S Craig, *British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918–1949*; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p45

1. F W S Craig, *British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918–1949*; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p20

1. The Liberal Magazine – Volume 47 (1939)

1. *The Times*, 3 June 1932, p. 19.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leonard Franklin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Franklin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Franklin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.