Sir Joseph Compton-Rickett,DLPC (13 February 1847 – 30 July 1919), was a BritishLiberal Party politician. He was also an industrialist (until 1902), lay preacher, and writer. He wrote poetry and fiction, as well as on such topics as popular philosophy. He sometimes wrote under the pseudonymMaurice Baxter.^[1]

He was born in London asJoseph Rickett, the eldest son of Joseph Rickett, ofEast Hoathly. He was educated atKing Edward VI School, Bath. In 1868 he married Catharine Sarah Gamble (1847–1933). They had ten children.^[2] There were four sons and four daughters living when he died in 1919.^[3] He was knighted on 24 December 1907.^[4] He assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Compton in 1908.

In 1911 he was appointed to thePrivy Council.^[5]

He was in business and interested in various commercial undertakings.^[2] In 1902, he retired from the chairmanship of several coal trade companies to devote himself to his political career.^[5]

He wasMember of Parliament (MP) forScarborough from1895–1906. He had gained the seat from the Conservatives in 1895 and held it in the1900 election. In early 1903 he announced his intention to step down as a candidate in this constituency at the next election, stating that he ′desired a constituency in which his attention will not be distracted by local controversies from the political and social problems which keep him in public office.′^[6] He was then Member of Parliament forOsgoldcross from1906–1918. In 1906 he re-gained the seat that had been Independent Liberal since 1899. He held office in the Coalition Government ofDavid Lloyd George asPaymaster General from 1916 to 1919. In 1917 he served as a Charity Commissioner.^[5]

He was Member of Parliament for thePontefract constituency that largely absorbed Osgoldcross from1918 until his death aged 72 the following year.^{[citation needed]} For the execution of his will, Sir Joseph's eldest son,Arthur Compton-Rickett, was appointed thepublic trustee.^[3]

• Hansard 1803–2005:contributions in Parliament by Joseph Compton-Rickett

• 1847 births
• 1919 deaths
• Knights Bachelor
• British poets
• British Christians
• Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
• UK MPs 1895–1900
• UK MPs 1900–1906
• UK MPs 1906–1910
• UK MPs 1910
• UK MPs 1910–1918
• UK MPs 1918–1922
• People educated at King Edward's School, Bath
• Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
• 19th-century British businesspeople

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2016
• Use British English from November 2016
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2017