Alexander Raphael | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forSt Albans | |
| In office 1847–1850 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin Bond Cabbell |
| Succeeded by | Jacob Bell |
| Member of Parliament forCarlow | |
| In office June 1835 – 19 August 1835 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1775 Madras, India |
| Died | 1850(1850-00-00) (aged 74–75) |
| Political party | Whig |
Alexander Raphael (1775–1850) was a British politician who was the firstBritish-Armenian to serve in theHouse of Commons.[1] He was returned as aWhig MP from the Irish constituency ofCounty Carlow, at a by-election in June 1835. However the election was challenged on petition and he was unseated on 19 August 1835. Raphael succeeded in re-entering the House of Commons as aCatholic Whig fromSt Albans in 1847 and retained the seat until his death.
Prior to serving inParliament, he had beenSheriff of London for 1834, where he lost the tip of his left index finger in a fight with a criminal.[2]
Raphael was born inMadras, India to father Edward Raphael, a founder of Carniac Bank who died in 1791, and mother Maria Stephana Manuel, who died in 1790. He was baptised as a Catholic. His father was reportedly descended from Armenians (surnamed either Gharamiants or Kharan) who moved toNew Julfa, Iran in the mid-17th century and then Madras. Raphael was tutored by Father Nicholas Pusani.[3]
His legacy isSt Raphael's Church in Surbiton,London, which he financed and had built as a family chapel. Completed in 1848, only two years before his death, it was later opened to the public as a Roman Catholic church by his nephew, Edward.[4]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCounty Carlow 1835 With:Nicholas Aylward Vigors | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSt Albans 1847 – 1850 With:George Repton | Succeeded by |
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