Dr. Richard Pankhurst was born in May 1834 in Stoke. He was the son of an auctioneer. His father was originally a member of the Church of England and Conservative Party but later became a Baptist and member of the Liberal Party. Dr Pankhurst grew up in Manchester where he was taught at a Baptist Sunday School although he later became an agnostic.

Dr Pankhurst was educated at Manchester Grammar School and the University of London and graduated in 1858. After spending time at the Lincoln's Inn, he qualified as a Barrister. He became active in social reform after joining the Liberal Party. He was a supporter of free secular education for all and he started evening classes for the working class in at Owens College in Manchester.

As a barrister Dr Pankhurst took a strong interest in changing laws that discriminated against women and was the legal advisor to Lydia Becker and the Manchester National Society for Women's Suffrage. He was responsible for drafting the first bill for the enfranchisement of women ever presented to Parliament. Dr Pankhurst was also responsible for such bills as the Municipal Corporation Bill of 1869 and the Married Women's Property Acts of 1870 and 1882 although the latter was altered after it went through Parliament.

Dr. Richard Pankhurst married Emmeline Goulden in 1879. The couple had five children. Three daughters: Christabel, Sylvia and Adela Pankhurst and two sons who both died at a young age. His wife and daughters would all become activists in their own rights.

In 1883, Dr. Pankhurst resigned from the Liberal Party over policy issues. He ran as an Independent candidate at a by-election from in Manchester. His campaign program was a radical one that included universal adult suffrage, payment of salaries for MPs, dis-establishment of the Church of England, free compulsory elementary education and the abolition of the House of Lords. He was convincingly defeated in the election.

The Pankhurst family moved to London in 1885 and Dr. Pankhurst became friends with leading radicals in the area including William Morris, Tom Mann and Annie Besant. Dr. Pankhurst played a leading role in the protest against police behavior after the events of Bloody Sunday in 1887.

The Pankhurst family returned to Manchester in 1893 and formed a branch of the new Independent Labor Party (ILP). Dr. Pankhurst stood as an ILP candidate for Gordan, an industrial suburb in Manchester in 1895 but he was defeated.

Dr. Richard Pankhurst died in July 1898 after several years of suffering from gastric ulcers.