William Burdett-Coutts

William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett-Coutts (born William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett; 1851 – 28 July 1921) was an American-born British politician. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1885 to 1921.

Ashmead-Bartlett was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States in 1851, and was the younger brother of Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett. All his grandparents were British subjects and after his father's death in 1852 he moved to England, and he entered Keble College, Oxford in 1870. Ashmead-Coutts was secretary to the philanthropist Baroness Burdett-Coutts and he married her on 12 February 1881 and took her surname. The marriage was received with surprise, she was 37 years older than him, but was happy. They had no children.

William Burdett-Coutts was first elected to Parliament in the 1885 general election for the London constituency of Westminster, which had become a one-seat constituency from a two-seat one. He remained the seat's MP until it was abolished in the 1918 general election, when he was elected for the new Westminster Abbey constituency. He was appointed to the Privy Council in the 1921 New Year's Honours List. He died on 28 July 1921, while in office, and a by-election was held to replace him.

References

*Obituary, "The Times", 29 July 1921
*rayment