Sir Robert Houston, 1st Baronet

Sir Robert Paterson Houston, 1st Baronet (31 May 1853 – 14 April 1926) was a British Conservative Party politician and shipowner.

In 1877 he bought a share in a packet steamer with his inheritance, using the profits to start up his own management company in 1880, R.P.

[2] In 1892 he was elected as member of parliament (MP) for Liverpool West Toxteth, resigning on 26 April 1924 through appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds.

Using Houston's money his widow funded the first flight over Mount Everest and the development of the later-to-be-famous Supermarine Spitfire aircraft.

She then purchased a weekly journal, the Saturday Review, in which she pursued a right-wing agenda to promote the strength of Britain and the Empire.