Russell Rea

Russell Rea PC, MP (11 December 1846 – 5 February 1916) was an English ship-owner from Liverpool and Liberal Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1900 and 1916.

Early life and family

Rea was the third son of Daniel Key Rea from Eskdale in Cumberland and his wife Elizabeth, who was the daughter of Liverpool shipbuilder Joseph Russell.

Career

Business In the 1890s, he founded the ship-owning and merchant company of R. and J. H. Rea in Liverpool. The business grew to have branches in Cardiff, Southampton, Bristol, and Newcastle upon Tyne, and Rea was senior director of all main company and all its subsidiaries.

At the 1900 general election, he was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Gloucester, where he was re-elected in 1906. However, at the January 1910 election, he lost his seat to the Conservative Party candidate Henry Terrell.