Sir Francis Powell, 1st Baronet

Sir Francis Sharp Powell, 1st Baronet (29 June 1827 – 24 December 1911) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1863 and 1910.

Powell was the son of the Rev. Benjamin Powell of Wigan and his wife Anne Wade, daughter of the Rev. T. Wade. He was educated at Uppingham School, Sedbergh School and St John's College, Cambridge He was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1853, and practised on the Northern Circuit. He was a J.P. for Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

In February 1863 Powell was elected at a by-election as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Cambridge but lost the seat in the 1868 general election. He was re-elected in 1865, and held the seat until his defeat at the 1868 general election

He was next elected MP for Northern Division of West Riding, Yorkshire in 1872 but lost the seat in the 1874 general election. He was elected as MP for Wigan at a by-election in January 1881, but was unseated on account of corrupt practices at the election. He stood again for Wigan in the 1885 general election and was elected. He held the seat until the January 1910 general election. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Sanitation and was created a baronet of Horton Old Hall in 1892. Powell was a benefactor to Wigan and Sedbergh Schools and was chairman of the governors of Sedbergh for over 35 years.

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