Michael Thomas Bass

Michael Thomas Bass, DL (6 July 1799 – 29 April 1884) was an English brewer and a Member of Parliament. Under his leadership, the Bass Brewery became the largest brewery in the world, and Bass the best known brand of beer in England. Bass represented Derby in the House of Commons between 1848 and 1883, first as a Radical, and then as a member of the Liberal Party upon its founding in 1859, where he was an effective advocate for the brewing industry. He was a generous benefactor both in Derby, and in Burton-on-Trent where his company was based.

Early life and career Bass was born at Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire, the son of Michael Thomas Bass, who had expanded the brewery founded by his father William and made it a major exporter to Russia. Michael's mother, Sarah Hoskins, was the daughter of Abraham Hoskins, a prominent Burton lawyer.

Bass attended what was then known as The Grammar School in Burton and finished his schooling in Nottingham. At the age of 18, he joined the family business as an apprentice when business was not going well because the Napoleonic Wars had disrupted trade with Russia. His obituary in the Brewers Journal stated that he was known more "in the House of Commons for his regular attendance than for any feats of oratory." He focused on being a national advocate for the brewing industry against efforts by nonconformists within the Liberal Party to legislate against alcohol.

Bass was an orthodox Liberal supporting free trade, low taxes and improving living standards for the working class. He promoted legislation to abolish imprisonment for small debtors. His legislation against organ grinders on the grounds that they were street nuisances was less successful. He was instrumental in the creation of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants.

Bass represented Derby until the final years of his life. William Ewart Gladstone offered Bass a peerage, which he declined, preferring to stay in the House of Commons.