Charles Schreiber

Who was Charles Schreiber?

Charles Schreiber was an English academic, fine arts collector and Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1865 and 1884.

Schreiber was born at Colchester, the eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel James Alfred Schreiber of Melton, Suffolk and his wife Mary Ware, daughter of Thomas Ware, of Woodfort, County Cork. He was educated at Cheltenham College and was a scholar at Trinity College Cambridge, where he won the Browne medal in 1848 and the Chancellor's Classical medal in 1850.

Schreiber became a Fellow of Trinity in 1852, where he was tutor to Ivor Guest. He married Guest’s mother Lady Charlotte Guest in 1855. She was the daughter of Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey and widow of John Josiah Guest, the owner of ironworks in Wales, and a major figure in the history of Welsh literature. She was famous for her collections of china, fans and playing-cards.

In the 1865 general election, Schreiber was elected Member of Parliament for Cheltenham, but lost the seat in 1868. In the 1880 general election, he was elected MP Poole and held the seat until his death in 1884.

Schreiber and his wife lived at Langham House, Portland Place, London.