Richard Stanford

Richard Stanford was the name of several notable figures whose public service and professional achievements spanned politics, the military, and sport over several centuries. The earliest known public figure bearing the name was Richard Stanford, a Member of Parliament for the borough of Stafford in the Kingdom of England between 1382 and 1402. Active during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, he served in multiple parliaments over a twenty‑year period, representing Stafford in the House of Commons at a time when parliamentary institutions were still evolving in the wake of the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. He was a relative of Hugh de Stanford, a connection that situates him within a family of some local standing and influence in medieval Staffordshire. Although detailed records of his early life, education, and personal affairs are scarce, his repeated elections to Parliament indicate a sustained role in local governance and national legislative affairs during a formative period in English constitutional history.

Another prominent bearer of the name in the early United States was Richard Stanford, an American politician born in 1767 who served as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina. Emerging in the post‑Revolutionary era, he entered national politics as the new federal government under the Constitution was taking shape. As a member of the United States House of Representatives, he participated in the legislative life of the early republic, representing the interests of his North Carolina constituents in Congress. His service in the House placed him among the generation of lawmakers who grappled with foundational questions of federal authority, state relations, and national development in the decades following American independence. He continued in public life until his death in 1816, leaving a record of sustained congressional service during the nation’s formative years.

In the realm of English sport during the eighteenth century, Richard Stanford of Kent, born in 1754, gained recognition as an English cricketer. He was active in an era when cricket was evolving from a regional pastime into a more organized and codified sport with growing public interest. Playing for Kent, a county with a strong early cricketing tradition, he would have participated in matches that contributed to the development and popularization of the game. His career unfolded at a time when scorecards were becoming more common but records were still incomplete, so detailed statistics of his performances are limited. Nonetheless, his identification in contemporary and later accounts as a Kent cricketer underscores his role in the early history of English cricket before his death in 1792.

A contemporary of the Kent player, another Richard Stanford was known as an English cricketer associated with Sussex. While specific details of his birth, death, and personal background are not well documented, his designation as a Sussex cricketer places him within one of the other historic centers of the game. Sussex, like Kent, was a cradle of early cricket, and players from the county took part in many of the important matches that helped establish cricket as a leading English sport. As with many players of his period, the surviving record is fragmentary, but his inclusion among named cricketers indicates that he was active enough in recognized matches to be remembered in the sport’s early annals.

In the modern era, the name has also been carried by Richard Stanford, born in 1986, a rugby union footballer who pursued a professional sporting career in the highly competitive environment of contemporary rugby. Coming of age at a time when rugby union had moved from amateurism to full professionalism, he played in an era marked by structured leagues, international competitions, and advanced training regimes. His career reflects the global reach and professionalization of rugby in the late twentieth and early twenty‑first centuries, with players subject to rigorous athletic standards and extensive travel for club and, where applicable, representative commitments.

Another modern figure is Richard Stanford, a British Army officer who rose to the rank of general. His military career unfolded within the professionalized structure of the modern British Army, which in the late twentieth and early twenty‑first centuries has been engaged in a range of operational, peacekeeping, and training roles around the world. As a British general, he would have held senior command and staff responsibilities, contributing to strategic planning, operational oversight, and the administration of military units and formations. Although detailed biographical information on his early life and specific commands is limited in the available record, his attainment of general officer rank signifies a long and distinguished career in military service, reflecting both professional competence and sustained leadership within the armed forces.