John Albert Bright

John Albert Bright (1848 – 11 November 1924) was an English industrialist and Liberal Unionist and Liberal politician.

J A Bright was the eldest son of the Liberal reformer, orator and statesman, John Bright. His family were steeped in Radical and reforming politics. His father’s brother, Jacob Bright was Liberal MP for different seats in Manchester between 1867-1895. His aunt was Priscilla Bright McLaren (1815-1906) a dedicated campaigner for women’s rights and the wife of Duncan McLaren the Liberal MP for Edinburgh from 1865-1881. His brother, William Leatham Bright (1851-1910), was Liberal MP for Stoke-on-Trent from 1885-1890.

As a prominent member of the Society of Friends, John Bright sent his son to the Quaker Grove House School, in Tottenham, London. John Albert later attended University College, London, where he won a prize for experimental physics and gained his B.Sc in 1867. In 1883, he married Edith Eckersley Shawcross, the daughter of W T Shawcross from Rochdale. They had one son and a daughter.