Alexander Raphael

Alexander Raphael (died 1850) was the first British-Armenian to serve in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was returned as a Liberal MP from the Irish constituency of County 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 entering the House of Commons as a Catholic Tory from St Albans in 1847 and retained the seat until his death. Prior to serving in Parliament, he had been Sheriff of London for 1829. [David Marshall Lang.Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. George Allen and Unwin Publishers. British ISBN 0-04-956008-5] His father was Edward Raphael who was one of the founders of the Carniac Bank in Madras, India, which opened its doors in 1788.

References

*"Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922", edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
*Rayment

James Corbett, "A History of St Albans" states that Alexander Raphael was a Liberal, as does F.W.S. Craig in "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885".