Charles McArthur

Charles McArthur (May 1844 – 3 July 1910) was a British average adjuster from Liverpool. He became a Liberal Unionist politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1897 and 1910.

McArthur was born near Bristol in Kingsdown, the son of Charles McArthur from Port Glasgow in Scotland. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School, and moved to Liverpool in 1860 (aged 16) to work for North, Ewing & Co. However that business was unsuccessful, and in 1874 McArthur established his own average adjuster's business, Cort & McArthur. This business prospered, and McArthur became one of the best-known average adjusters in England. He served as chairman of the Association of Average Adjusters in the United Kingdom, as well as President of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce from 1892 to 1896, and as a Justice of the Peace in Liverpool. He served on several committees relating to marine insurance, including the Comité Maritime International, and wrote several books on marine insurance. He also wrote on religious topics.

In 1897 he was chosen as the Liberal Unionist candidate for the by-election in the Liverpool Exchange seat. He was elected with a majority of only 54 votes (1%of the total) over his Liberal Party opponent Russell Rea, and at the 1900 general election he was returned with an increased majority of 1,297 (30% of the votes) over the Liberal Frederick William Verney.

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