Sir Basil Peto, 1st Baronet

Who was Sir Basil Peto, 1st Baronet?

Sir Basil Edward Peto, 1st Baronet was a British businessman and Unionist politician.

Born at Westminster, Peto was the seventh son of Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet. He entered Harrow School, but was withdrawn at the age of seventeen when his father experienced financial difficulties. He became an apprentice joiner with his family's business, Peto Brothers, building contractors, of Pimlico. He became a partner in the company in 1884 and married Mary Matilda Annie Baird in 1892. The couple had three sons. In 1890 Peto attempted to bring in a form of profit-sharing to the company. The proposal was opposed by the trade unions, leading to a strike. The company was dissolved in 1893 and Peto was financially ruined.

He took up employment with Morgan Crucible in 1892, eventually becoming managing director by 1904, when he resigned. He travelled widely for the company supervising the mining and purchase of plumbago in the United States, Canada, India and Ceylon.

Peto was chosen by the Conservative Party to contest the January 1910 general election, regaining the Devizes constituency in Wiltshire which had been lost to the Liberals in 1906.