The 1913 Londonderry City by-election was a Parliamentary by-election held on 30 January 1913.[1] The constituency returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The sitting Unionist MP, the James Hamilton succeeded his father on his death as the Duke of Abercorn, so vacated his seat in the House of Commons to take up his seat in the House of Lords. He had been MP here since 1900.
The Unionist candidate was 50-year-old Antrim-born, London-based soldier Hercules Pakenham.
The Catholic clergy, whose authority on the choice of nationalist candidate was total, surprisingly selected Liberal David Hogg, a 73-year-old local shirt manufacturer and a Protestant.[2]
The date of poll was set at 30 January, just 27 days after the death of the old Duke. This left little time for campaigning.Hogg's election address said he was a Liberal and a supporter of the government's Home Rule Bill; he did not canvass during the election.[3]
The Liberal Party gained the seat from the Irish Unionist Alliance.
Hogg died in August 1914 causing another by-election at which the Liberal, Sir James Brown Dougherty was returned unopposed.