James Aspinall Turner

Who was James Aspinall Turner?

James Aspinall Turner was a British businessman, entomologist and Whig politician.

James was the son of John Turner of Mayfield, near Bolton, and his wife Elizabeth Aspinall of Liverpool. He was a descendant of John Turner who had fought against the Old Pretender in 1715.

Turner was a prominent cotton manufacturer and merchant in Manchester. He made his home at Pendlebury Hall and was a magistrate and deputy lieutenant of Lancashire. In 1845 he formed the Manchester Commercial Association. The association, of which he was president, was a protectionist body that broke away from the pro-free trade Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

In the mid-nineteenth century the parliamentary borough of Manchester was represented by two Radical members of parliament, John Bright and Thomas Milner Gibson. In order to unseat them the Conservative Party stood aside at the 1857 general election and Turner and John Potter were elected as "Palmerstonian Whigs". In 1858 he was appointed a member of the royal commission on army clothing. He stood down from parliament at the 1865 general election.

Apart from his business and political activities, Turner was a renowned entomologist.