John Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey
The Viscount Mersey | |
|---|---|
Lord Mersey | |
| President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division | |
| In office 10 February 1909 – 4 March 1910 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Gorell Barnes |
| Succeeded by | Sir Samuel Evans |
| Justice of the High Court | |
| In office 1897 – 10 February 1909 | |
| Member of Parliament for Liverpool Exchange | |
| In office 7 August 1895 – 10 November 1897 | |
| Preceded by | Ralph Neville |
| Succeeded by | Charles McArthur |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 August 1840 Liverpool |
| Died | 3 September 1929 (aged 89) Littlehampton, Sussex |
John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, PC (3 August 1840 – 3 September 1929) was a British jurist and politician. After early success as a lawyer and a less successful spell as a politician, he was appointed a judge and worked in commercial law.
After his retirement, Mersey remained active in public affairs and is probably best remembered for heading the official Board of Trade inquiries into the sinking of steamships, most notably RMS Titanic, RMS Lusitania, and Falaba, which gave rise to the Thrasher incident. He also chaired the inquiry under the Canada Shipping Act into the sinking of RMS Empress of Ireland.