Tuesday, 24 May 2016

24 MAY 1868-7 MAR 1939 H.E.A.COTTON

H. E. A. Cotton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Harry Evan Auguste Cotton
HEA Cotton.jpg
Born27 May 1868
Midnapore
Died7 March 1939
Eastbourne
OccupationHistorian, author
Spouse(s)Nora
Sir Harry Evan Auguste Cotton CIE (better known as H. E. A. Cotton, or Evan Cotton) (24 May 1868 – 7 March 1939) was a Liberal politician, barrister, administrator, journalist, historian and writer. His Calcutta Old and New, first published in 1909, remains unsurpassed to this day.[1]

Formative years[edit]

The son of Sir Henry Cotton,[2] who had the rare distinction of presiding over the 1904 session of the Indian National Congress, he was born at Midnapore, where his father was then posted. He had his early schooling at Mount Liban School, Pau and then at Sherborne School.[1]
He held an open scholarship at Jesus College, Oxford, where he obtained a second class in Classics Honour Mods, followed by second class degrees in history and jurisprudence. He was a keen debater and was elected secretary and then treasurer of the Oxford Union. He was called to the bar by Lincoln's Inn.

Professional life[edit]

Cotton practised at Calcutta High Court from 1893 to 1908. He served as a member of Calcutta Municipal Corporation.[1] He covered the Delhi Durbar of 1903 as a correspondent of the Manchester Guardian. He subsequently served as the Kolkata correspondent of theDaily News. He undertook the editorship of India, the weekly organ of the British Committee of the Indian National Congress. He served as President of the Bengal Legislative Council from 1922 to 1925.[3] He was an active member of the Indian Historical Records Commission and was chairman from 1923 to 1925.

Politics[edit]

Evan returned to England in 1906 and joined the Liberal Party. His father was himself a Liberal MP who sat for Nottingham East from 1906–1910. In January 1910, Evan contested the General Election at the Conservative seat of Dulwich;
Dulwich in the London area, showing boundaries used in 1910
General Election January 1910: Dulwich
Electorate 16,478
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ConservativeAndrew Bonar Law8,47258.3+3.0
LiberalHarry Evan Auguste Cotton6,05441.7-3.0
Majority2,41816.6+6.0
Turnout88.2
Conservative holdSwing+3.0
In March 1910 he was elected as a Progressive Councillor to the London County Council representing Finsbury East;
Finsbury East in the London area, showing boundaries used 1885–1918
London County Council election, 1910: Finsbury East[4]
Electorate
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ProgressiveGreen tick Henry Evan Auguste Cotton2,02627.9
ProgressiveGreen tick George Masterman Gillett2,02027.8
Municipal ReformLord Hardwicke1,61622.3
Municipal ReformRev. J Lewthwaite1,59221.9
Majority
Progressive gain from Municipal ReformSwing
The Progressives were the local government arm of the Liberal Party. In March 1913 he was re-elected to the LCC;
London County Council election, 1913: Finsbury East[4]
Electorate 6,498
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
ProgressiveGreen tick George Masterman Gillett2,03726.2-1.6
ProgressiveGreen tick Henry Evan Auguste Cotton2,02626.1-1.8
Municipal ReformEustace Widdrington Morrison-Bell1,86624.0+1.7
Municipal ReformWilliam George Perring1,83723.7+1.8
Majority
Progressive holdSwing
Progressive holdSwing
In July 1918, when a vacancy occurred due to the death of a Liberal MP, for the parliamentary seat of Finsbury East. Cotton was an obvious candidate to defend the seat for the Liberal Party. Due to the wartime electoral truce, he did not face an official Unionist Party opponent and was comfortably elected;
Evan Cotton.jpg
Finsbury East by-election, 1918: 16 July 1918
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LiberalHarry Evan Auguste Cotton1,15659.9+8.3
IndependentCapt. H.S. Spencer57629.8n/a
IndependentA.S. Belsher19910.3n/a
Majority58030.1
Turnout38.7
Liberal holdSwingN/A
Following boundary changes, Evan's Finsbury East seat was merged with the Unionist seat of Finsbury Central to form a new Finsbury constituency. The Coalition Government chose to publicly endorse the Unionist candidate who was the sitting MP for the old Central seat. This endorsement made Evan's prospects difficult and after only 5 months as an MP he was defeated;
Finsbury in the County of London, showing boundaries used in 1918
General Election 1918: Finsbury
Electorate 34,873
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Coalition ConservativeMartin Archer-Shee8,78263.8n/a
LiberalHarry Evan Auguste Cotton4,98136.2n/a
Majority3,80127.6n/a
Turnout13,76339.5n/a
Coalition Conservative win
In 1919 he did not defend his Finsbury East seat on the London County Council as after the election he was appointed as an Alderman.

Estimate of the person[edit]

In all his activities, his primary concern was for India, a country served by four generations in the family. He provided strong support to the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms and served on an advisory committee at the India Office in connection with the 1919 Act. He was pivot of a small group that supported reforms. However, the changing political environment dampened his spirits. He later became a severe critic of the constitutional changes that led to the Round Table Conference.[5]

Marriage[edit]

In 1896, he married Nora, daughter of William H.Grimley of Bengal ICS. They had a daughter.[5]

Works[edit]

Wikisource has original works written by or about:
Henry Evan Auguste Cotton
Calcutta: Old and New, The Century in India 1800–1900, Hartly House, Calcutta, Murray’s Handbook of India, Burma and Ceylon (13th and 14th editions)

See also[edit]

About 74,100 results (0.61 seconds) 

  1. Heart Disease & Problems?‎

    Adwww.fortishealthcare.com/Heart-problems‎
    Consult Expert Cardiologist Now Get Accurate Diagnosis & Treatment.
    Stay up to date on results for h e a cotton.
    Create alert

    About 4,74,000 results (0.67 seconds) 
      Sponsored
      H. E. A. Cotton
      Politician
      Sir Harry Evan Auguste Cotton CIE was a Liberal politician, barrister, administrator, journalist, historian and writer. His Calcutta Old and New, first published in 1909, remains unsurpassed to this day. Wikipedia
      Born: May 24, 1868, Midnapore
      Died: March 7, 1939, Eastbourne, United Kingdom
      Spouse: Nora
      Education: Jesus College, Oxford
      Party: Liberal Party
      Books: Calcutta, Old and New: A Historical & Descriptive Handbook to the City
      Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra - From your Internet address - Use precise location
       - Learn more   
      Help Send feedback Privacy Terms










      Posted by at

      No comments:

      Post a Comment

      Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)