Sir Alfred Hickman, 1st Baronet (3 July 1830 – 11 March 1910) was a British industrialist andConservative party politician[1] who was aMember of Parliament (MP) between 1885 and 1906.
Hickman was the son of George Rushbury Hickman ofTipton,Staffordshire and his wife Mary Haden. His father was the owner of the Moat Colliery in Tipton. Hickman was educated atKing Edward's School, Birmingham. He became a colliery proprietor and ironmaster, as the family acquired Springvale Furnace in 1866. He was a director of Lloyd's Staffordshire Proving House, a Member of Council of theMining Association of Great Britain, and chairman of Staffordshire Railway and Canal Freighter's Association. In 1882 he formed the Staffordshire Steel Ingot & Iron Company Ltd to produce steel using the Bessemer process.[2]
Hickman stood for parliament for the Conservatives atWolverhampton in 1880 but was defeated. Under theRedistribution of Seats Act 1885 the Wolverhampton constituency was divided and in the1885 general election, Hickman was electedMember of Parliament forWolverhampton West. He lost the seat in 1886, regained it in 1892 and held it until 1906.[3]
Hickman wasknighted in 1891 and created abaronet in 1903.[4] He was President of the British Iron Trades Council and President of Wolverhampton Chamber of Commerce. In July 1902 he was given thehonorary freedom of the borough of Wolverhampton.[5] In 1906 he became Chairman of the newly formedTarmac Limited; the company used large quantities of his wasteslag.[6] The Staffordshire Steel Ingot & Iron Company later became part ofStewarts & Lloyds.
On his death in 1910, he bequeathed a park (Hickman Park) to the people of Bilston.
Hickman married Lucy Owen Smith in 1850. Their eldest son Alfred William Hickman, ajustice of the peace, died in August 1902, aged 51. His grandson Alfred succeeded to the baronetcy.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency before:Wolverhampton | Member of Parliament forWolverhampton West 1885–1886 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forWolverhampton West 1892–1906 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Wightwick) 1903–1910 | Succeeded by |
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