Richard Arkwright (1781–1832)

Richard Arkwright (30 September 1781 – 28 March 1832) was an English politician.

He was the oldest son of Richard Arkwright (died 1843) of Willersley Castle, Derbyshire, and grandson of the entrepreneur Sir Richard Arkwright (1732–1792), whose invention of the spinning frame and other industrial innovations made him very wealthy.

Young Richard was educated at Eton and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He and his five brothers were endowed as landed gentry by their father, who gave Richard £30,000 on his marriage in 1803 (equivalent to £ in 2024). He managed his father's estates at Normanton Turville (near Thurlaston, Leicestershire) and Sutton Scarsdale in Derbyshire.

Living at Normanton Turville, he served as an officer in the yeomanry, and as Member of Parliament for Rye from 1813 to 1818, and from 1826 to 1830.