Sir Alfred James Newton, 1st Baronet (18 November 1845 – 20 June 1921) was a British businessman. He was involved with the stock market flotation of several large privately owned retail stores, including Harrods in 1889 and D H Evans in 1894. He became Lord Mayor of London in 1900 and helped establish the City of London Imperial Volunteers who fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Mystery surrounds his death in 1921 from strychnine poisoning.
Newton died at Harrods in 1921. He had travelled from home in an automobile with his wife on their way to the store. When they arrived, Newton had a seizure and fell back into his seat next to his wife. A doctor was called but Newton had died. It later transpired that there was a high dosage of strychnine in his indigestion medicine, enough to kill a large number of people. The medicine had been made up on prescription by the Harrods pharmacist. At the inquest she described her working methods and precautions with poison, saying that it would not have been possible for Newton's medication to have become contaminated with strychnine in the pharmacy. Newton had complained that this new bottle of medicine had tasted very bitter so it seems unlikely that it was self-administered. The doctor who conducted the post-mortem said at the inquest that Newton's heart was in a poor condition and he would not have lived much longer, although the strychnine had contributed to the death. The jury returned a verdict that death was due to heart failure.
Newton married Elizabeth (Lily) Jane Watson (1856-1945), the daughter of Sarah and Joseph Watson who was a yeast merchant living in Mitcham, Surrey. Lily and Alfred Newton had two children, Sir Harry Kottingham Newton, 2nd Baronet (1875-1951) and Muriel Prudhoe Newton (1878-1975), who married in 1902 George Parsons. His great-grandson, the Rev. Sir George Peter Howgill Newton, the 4th baronet (born 1962), is the vicar of Holy Trinity church in Aldershot.
Newton died at Harrods in 1921. He had travelled from home in an automobile with his wife on their way to the store. When they arrived, Newton had a seizure and fell back into his seat next to his wife. A doctor was called but Newton had died. It later transpired that there was a high dosage of strychnine in his indigestion medicine, enough to kill a large number of people. The medicine had been made up on prescription by the Harrods pharmacist. At the inquest she described her working methods and precautions with poison, saying that it would not have been possible for Newton's medication to have become contaminated with strychnine in the pharmacy. Newton had complained that this new bottle of medicine had tasted very bitter so it seems unlikely that it was self-administered. The doctor who conducted the post-mortem said at the inquest that Newton's heart was in a poor condition and he would not have lived much longer, although the strychnine had contributed to the death. The jury returned a verdict that death was due to heart failure.
Newton married Elizabeth (Lily) Jane Watson (1856-1945), the daughter of Sarah and Joseph Watson who was a yeast merchant living in Mitcham, Surrey. Lily and Alfred Newton had two children, Sir Harry Kottingham Newton, 2nd Baronet (1875-1951) and Muriel Prudhoe Newton (1878-1975), who married in 1902 George Parsons. His great-grandson, the Rev. Sir George Peter Howgill Newton, the 4th baronet (born 1962), is the vicar of Holy Trinity church in Aldershot.
Sir Alfred James Newton, 1st Baronet (18 November 1845 – 20 June 1921) was a British businessman. He was involved with the stock market flotation of several large privately owned retail stores, including Harrods in 1889 and D H Evans in 1894. He became Lord Mayor of London in 1900 and helped establish the City of London Imperial Volunteers who fought in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Mystery surrounds his death in 1921 from strychnine poisoning.
Newton died at Harrods in 1921. He had travelled from home in an automobile with his wife on their way to the store. When they arrived, Newton had a seizure and fell back into his seat next to his wife. A doctor was called but Newton had died. It later transpired that there was a high dosage of strychnine in his indigestion medicine, enough to kill a large number of people. The medicine had been made up on prescription by the Harrods pharmacist. At the inquest she described her working methods and precautions with poison, saying that it would not have been possible for Newton's medication to have become contaminated with strychnine in the pharmacy. Newton had complained that this new bottle of medicine had tasted very bitter so it seems unlikely that it was self-administered. The doctor who conducted the post-mortem said at the inquest that Newton's heart was in a poor condition and he would not have lived much longer, although the strychnine had contributed to the death. The jury returned a verdict that death was due to heart failure.
Newton married Elizabeth (Lily) Jane Watson (1856-1945), the daughter of Sarah and Joseph Watson who was a yeast merchant living in Mitcham, Surrey. Lily and Alfred Newton had two children, Sir Harry Kottingham Newton, 2nd Baronet (1875-1951) and Muriel Prudhoe Newton (1878-1975), who married in 1902 George Parsons. His great-grandson, the Rev. Sir George Peter Howgill Newton, the 4th baronet (born 1962), is the vicar of Holy Trinity church in Aldershot.
Newton died at Harrods in 1921. He had travelled from home in an automobile with his wife on their way to the store. When they arrived, Newton had a seizure and fell back into his seat next to his wife. A doctor was called but Newton had died. It later transpired that there was a high dosage of strychnine in his indigestion medicine, enough to kill a large number of people. The medicine had been made up on prescription by the Harrods pharmacist. At the inquest she described her working methods and precautions with poison, saying that it would not have been possible for Newton's medication to have become contaminated with strychnine in the pharmacy. Newton had complained that this new bottle of medicine had tasted very bitter so it seems unlikely that it was self-administered. The doctor who conducted the post-mortem said at the inquest that Newton's heart was in a poor condition and he would not have lived much longer, although the strychnine had contributed to the death. The jury returned a verdict that death was due to heart failure.
Newton married Elizabeth (Lily) Jane Watson (1856-1945), the daughter of Sarah and Joseph Watson who was a yeast merchant living in Mitcham, Surrey. Lily and Alfred Newton had two children, Sir Harry Kottingham Newton, 2nd Baronet (1875-1951) and Muriel Prudhoe Newton (1878-1975), who married in 1902 George Parsons. His great-grandson, the Rev. Sir George Peter Howgill Newton, the 4th baronet (born 1962), is the vicar of Holy Trinity church in Aldershot.
Gravesite Details
A private grave marked by a simple metal cross set in the ground. A ledger stone covers the plot.Burial: 24 Jun 1921
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