# Joseph Bottomley Firth > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/wiki/page_0117 > Last updated: 2026-07-27T22:14:08.428Z [Template:Short description](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Short_description&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:Use dmy dates](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Use_dmy_dates&action=edit&redlink=1) [File:J-f-b-firth-1880.jpg](/mw/index.php/File:J-f-b-firth-1880.jpg) Firth in 1880 **Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth** (1842 - 3 September 1889) was an English barrister and [Liberal](/mw/index.php?title=Liberal_Party_(UK)&action=edit&redlink=1) politician who sat in the [House of Commons](/mw/index.php?title=House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&redlink=1) between 1880 and 1889. ## Contents - [1 Early life](#Early_life) - [2 Political career](#Political_career) - [3 References](#References) - [4 External links](#External_links) ## Early life Firth was born as Bottomley in Dobroyd, Yorkshire, the son of Joseph Bottomley of [Huddersfield](/mw/index.php?title=Huddersfield&action=edit&redlink=1) and his wife Ann, the eldest daughter of Joseph Firth. The Bottomleys were a prominent [Quaker](/mw/index.php?title=Quaker&action=edit&redlink=1) family in the [West Riding of Yorkshire](/mw/index.php?title=West_Riding_of_Yorkshire&action=edit&redlink=1), having been major landowners since the reign of [Elizabeth I](/mw/index.php?title=Elizabeth_I_of_England&action=edit&redlink=1).[1][2] He attended [Ackworth School](/mw/index.php?title=Ackworth_School&action=edit&redlink=1) and the [University of London](/mw/index.php?title=University_of_London&action=edit&redlink=1), where he received a degree in law. He was [called to the bar](/mw/index.php?title=Barrister&action=edit&redlink=1) at the [Middle Temple](/mw/index.php?title=Middle_Temple&action=edit&redlink=1) and practised as a barrister on the North Eastern Circuit. In 1873, his uncle, Joseph Firth of Shepley, died, and as part of the conditions of his uncle's will, he adopted the additional surname of "Firth" by [royal licence](/mw/index.php?title=Royal_licence&action=edit&redlink=1) to become Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth.[1][2] ## Political career Firth was an active campaigner for reform of local government in London and was involved in the Liberal Party. From 1876 to 1879, he was a member for [Chelsea](/mw/index.php?title=Chelsea,_London&action=edit&redlink=1) on the [London School Board](/mw/index.php?title=London_School_Board&action=edit&redlink=1).[1][2] In [1880](/mw/index.php?title=1880_United_Kingdom_general_election&action=edit&redlink=1) he entered the [House of Commons](/mw/index.php?title=United_Kingdom_House_of_Commons&action=edit&redlink=1) as one of two [Members of Parliament](/mw/index.php?title=Members_of_Parliament&action=edit&redlink=1) for [Chelsea](/mw/index.php?title=Chelsea_(UK_Parliament_constituency)&action=edit&redlink=1) and held the seat until 1885.[3] Firth was president of the [London Municipal Reform League](/mw/index.php?title=London_Municipal_Reform_League&action=edit&redlink=1) from 1882, and author of *Municipal London; or London Government as it is and London Government as it ought to be*.[1][4] At the [1885 general election](/mw/index.php?title=1885_United_Kingdom_general_election&action=edit&redlink=1) he stood unsuccessfully at [North Kensington](/mw/index.php?title=North_Kensington_(UK_Parliament_constituency)&action=edit&redlink=1) and at the [1886 general election](/mw/index.php?title=1886_United_Kingdom_general_election&action=edit&redlink=1) at [Newington West](/mw/index.php?title=Newington_West_(UK_Parliament_constituency)&action=edit&redlink=1). In February 1888 [Charles Lacaita](/mw/index.php?title=Charles_Lacaita&action=edit&redlink=1), one of the sitting Liberal members for [Dundee](/mw/index.php?title=Dundee_(UK_Parliament_constituency)&action=edit&redlink=1), resigned his seat over the [Home Rule policy](/mw/index.php?title=Irish_Home_Rule_movement&action=edit&redlink=1) of Gladstone and the Liberals, and Firth was [elected](/mw/index.php?title=1888_Dundee_by-election&action=edit&redlink=1) in his place.[1][2][5] In 1889, a democratically elected [London County Council](/mw/index.php?title=London_County_Council&action=edit&redlink=1) was created, and Firth was elected as a member of the [Progressive](/mw/index.php?title=Progressive_Party_(London)&action=edit&redlink=1) majority group. He became the first [deputy chairman](/mw/index.php?title=List_of_chairmen_of_the_London_County_Council&action=edit&redlink=1) of the council.[6] Firth died suddenly from "sun stroke" at the age of 47, while in Switzerland.[4] Firth married Elizabeth Tatham, daughter of a sometime mayor of [Leeds](/mw/index.php?title=Leeds&action=edit&redlink=1), in 1873. ## References [Template:Reflist](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Reflist&action=edit&redlink=1) ## External links - [Template:Hansard-contribs](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Hansard-contribs&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-start](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-start&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-par](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-par&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-bef](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-bef&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-ttl](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-ttl&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-aft](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-aft&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-bef](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-bef&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-ttl](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-ttl&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-aft](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-aft&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:S-end](/mw/index.php?title=Template:S-end&action=edit&redlink=1) [Template:Authority control](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Authority_control&action=edit&redlink=1) 1. ↑ [1.0](#cite_ref-deb1881_1-0) [1.1](#cite_ref-deb1881_1-1) [1.2](#cite_ref-deb1881_1-2) [1.3](#cite_ref-deb1881_1-3) [1.4](#cite_ref-deb1881_1-4) [Template:Cite book](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_book&action=edit&redlink=1) 1. ↑ [2.0](#cite_ref-ackw_2-0) [2.1](#cite_ref-ackw_2-1) [2.2](#cite_ref-ackw_2-2) [2.3](#cite_ref-ackw_2-3) [Template:Cite book](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_book&action=edit&redlink=1) 1. [↑](#cite_ref-3) [Template:Rayment-hc](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Rayment-hc&action=edit&redlink=1) 1. ↑ [4.0](#cite_ref-obit_4-0) [4.1](#cite_ref-obit_4-1) [Template:Cite news](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_news&action=edit&redlink=1) 1. [↑](#cite_ref-GlasgowHerald1888_5-0) [Template:Cite news](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_news&action=edit&redlink=1) 1. [↑](#cite_ref-6) [Template:Cite news](/mw/index.php?title=Template:Cite_news&action=edit&redlink=1) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph Bottomley Firth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bottomley_Firth) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bottomley_Firth?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.