Richard Rathbone

Who was Richard Rathbone?

Richard Rathbone was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool in England. He was the second son of William Rathbone IV. Richard was a commission merchant, setting up in partnership with his brother, William Rathbone V in 1809.

He retired in 1835. As a committed opponent of the slave trade, he published in 1836 Letter to the President of the Liverpool Anti-Slavery Society.

Rathbone attended the 1840 anti-slavery convention in London and he was included in the painting which is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

On 8 April 1817 Rathbone married his half-cousin Hannah Mary, daughter of Joseph Reynolds of Ketley, Shropshire, and granddaughter of Richard Reynolds. They had six children:

Hannah Mary

Richard Reynolds

Margaret

William Benson

Basil

Emily