Richard Barnett

Major Sir Richard Whieldon Barnett (6 December 1863 – 17 October 1930) was an Irish barrister, sportsman, volunteer officer and freemason who sat as a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom House of Commons. He also competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Early life and education Barnett was the eldest son of Richard Barnett, a doctor of medicine of Ardmore, Holywood, County Down and his wife Adela née Whieldon. He was educated at Wadham College, Oxford, where he studied classics and law. He graduated with a BA Honours in jurisprudence in 1887 and an MA and Bachelor of Civil Law in 1889. While at university, he joined the Oxford University Volunteers, a volunteer unit of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry, in which he reached the rank of captain. A member of the council of the National Rifle Association, he was the captain of the winning team in the Lords vs Commons shooting team at Bisley in 1921–28. Knighted in 1925, Barnett resigned from the House of Commons at the 1929 general election.