Alfred Charles Bossom, Baron Bossom GCStJ FRIBA (6 October 1881 – 4 September 1965) was an architect in the United States who returned to his native England and became a Conservative Party politician. He also wrote books on architecture. Architectural career Bossom was born in Islington, London, to Alfred Henry Bossom, a stationer, and his wife Amelia Jane, née Hammond. He was educated at St. Thomas's Charterhouse School, in the City, and studied architecture at the Regent Street Polytechnic and the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1904 he left for the United States to work for Carnegie Steel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked on the restoration of Fort Ticonderoga from 1908. In 1910, he married Emily, daughter of New York City banker, Samuel Bayne, and they had three sons. As an architect with offices at 680 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, Bossom specialized in the efficient construction of skyscrapers. While based in New York City he designed a number of major works in Texas, including the American Exchange National Bank (1918). Bossom's Dallas work on the Maple Terrace Apartments (1924–1925), and the expansion and renovation of the Adolphus Hotel, were done with local architects Thomson and Swaine. After traveling into Mexico, Bossom became a proponent of Mayan Revival architecture, clearly reflected in the stepped-back tower and ornament of his 1927 Petroleum Building in Houston. Bossom also designed a number of large houses. Examples include the Henry Devereux Whiton house in Hewlett, New York, additions to the Joseph Wright Harriman house in Brookville, New York, and the remarkable Edward Howland Robinson Green estate in Round Hill, Massachusetts. He also invented a device for protecting people from suffocating if they accidentally got locked in a bank vault. A number of architects began their careers in his offices. Samuel Juster and Anthony DePace met in these offices, later founding the firm of DePace and Juster; DePace went from Bossom's skyscraper work to become project manager at Cass Gilbert's offices, project managing the New York Life Building. Return to England At the height of his career in 1926, Bossom returned to England with his family, determined that his children should be educated there. Entirely detached from his architectural career, he began a new life of public service and was elected as member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone at the 1931 general election. He held the seat until he retired from the House of Commons at the