Burns, John Elliott (1858–1943), labour leader and politician, was born in South Lambeth, London, on 20 October 1858, the sixteenth child of Alexander Burns, a Scottish fitter, and Barbara Smith. He left St Mary's national school when he was about ten and after a series of short-term jobs was apprenticed as an engineer....
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Burns, John Elliott (1858–1943), labour leader and politician
Kenneth D. Brown
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Burns, John Elliott (1858–1943)
Maker: John Collier
In
John Elliott Burns (1858–1943) by John Collier, 1889 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Bywater, (Richard) Arthur Samuel (1913–2005), munitions factory official
Anne Pimlott Baker
Bywater, (Richard) Arthur Samuel (1913–2005), munitions factory official, was born on 3 November 1913 at 1 Teignmouth Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, the third son of Walter Bywater, clerk at a tinplate works, later chief clerk of stores at the Austin Motor Company, Longbridge, Birmingham...
Article
Campbell, David Robb (1874/5–1934), labour leader
Peter Collins
Campbell, David Robb (1874/5–1934), labour leader, was born in Belfast, the son of an insurance agent. The family was protestant; his father belonged to the Orange order. Educated in Belfast, Davy, as he was known, also went into insurance. He developed an interest in trade unionism and became the secretary of the life assurance agents' association in the city. As such, he won a seat in 1906 on the ...
Article
Collison, William (1865–1938), workers' leader
Geoffrey Alderman
Collison, William (1865–1938), workers' leader, was born on 22 June 1865 at 22 Greenfield Street, Mile End, London, the eldest of twelve children of William Collison (1842—1914), policeman, and his wife, Leah née Brett (1843—1923). Collison's formal education did not progress beyond elementary school; it must be presumed that his later fluency with the pen was the result of his own efforts at self-improvement. A long series of casual jobs, punctuated by a two-year period of service in the British army, took him into the world of ...
Article
Dash, Jack O'Brien (1907–1989), political activist and unofficial dockers' leader
D. E. Martin
Dash, Jack O'Brien (1907–1989), political activist and unofficial dockers' leader, was born on 23 April 1907 in Southwark, south London, the youngest of four sons of Joseph Thomas Dash, a stagehand, and his wife, Rose Gertrude Johns, an actor. According to Dash's own account, his upbringing was one of great material hardship. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was seven and his father, who then had an even greater struggle to support the family, also died of a lung complaint a few years later. After an elementary schooling, his skill at drawing led to a trial period with an engraving firm, but pressure to take home a better wage resulted in a series of menial jobs, starting in a ...
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Grimshaw, Mortimer (bap. 1826, d. 1869), cotton weaver and labour leader
J. E. King
Grimshaw, Mortimer (bap. 1826, d. 1869), cotton weaver and labour leader, was born into a working-class family in or near Great Harwood in north-east Lancashire, and was baptized at Church Kirk, Lancashire, on 21 May 1826, the son of Thomas Grimshaw of Rishton, Lancashire...
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Henson, Gravener (1785–1852), workers' leader and author
Malcolm I. Thomis
Henson, Gravener (1785–1852), workers' leader and author, was born in Nottingham in 1785, the son of James Henson, knitter. He may well have received some education at a local Wesleyan Sunday school, but he became familiar with popular contemporary writers, British and European, through hard study in his leisure time. He married ...
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Hodges, Frank (1887–1947), labour leader and politician
Keith Davies
Hodges, Frank (1887–1947), labour leader and politician, was born at Woolaston, Gloucestershire, on 30 April 1887, the son of Thomas and Louisa Hodges. Hodges' family moved to south Wales during the pre-1914 boom years when annual production in the coal industry reached its peak. After attending ...
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Larkin, James (1874–1947), labour leader in Ireland
Emmet Larkin
Larkin, James (1874–1947), labour leader in Ireland, was born on 4 February 1874 at 41 Combermere Street, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, the second of the six children of James Larkin (1845–1887), a forge labourer, and his wife, Mary Ann McNulty (1842–1911). His parents were part of that vast exodus from ...
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Larkin, James (1874–1947)
Maker: unknown photographer
In
James Larkin (1874–1947) by unknown photographer, 1914 Getty Images
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Mboya, Thomas Joseph (1930–1969), labour leader and politician in Kenya
David Goldsworthy
Mboya, Thomas Joseph (1930–1969), labour leader and politician in Kenya, was born at Kilima Mbogo, near Thika, north of Nairobi, on 15 August 1930, the eldest of the six children of Leunadus Ndiege, a sisal worker from Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria, and his wife ...
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Mboya, Thomas Joseph (1930–1969)
Maker: unknown photographer
In
Thomas Joseph Mboya (1930–1969) by unknown photographer, 1960 © reserved; East African Newspapers (Nation) Ltd; photograph National Portrait Gallery, London
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Morgan, David Watts (1867–1933), miners' leader and politician
Chris Williams
Morgan, David Watts (1867–1933), miners' leader and politician, was born at Skewen, Neath, Glamorgan, on 18 December 1867, the son of Thomas W. Morgan, miner, and his wife, Margaret, née Davies. After attending the national school at Skewen, and other elementary schools in ...
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Morgan, David Watts (1867–1933)
Maker: Bassano
In
David Watts Morgan (1867–1933) by Bassano, 1915 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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O'Brien, William (1881–1968), labour leader in Ireland
Arthur Mitchell
O'Brien, William (1881–1968), labour leader in Ireland, was born on 23 January 1881 at Ballygurteen, Clonakilty, co. Cork, Ireland, the youngest of four children of a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary. The family moved to Carrick-on-Suir, co. Tipperary, in 1888 and, upon the retirement of the father, to ...
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Parry, William John (1842–1927), labour leader and businessman
Jean Lindsay
Parry, William John (1842–1927), labour leader and businessman, was born on 28 September 1842 at 58 High Street, Bethesda, Caernarvonshire, the only child of John Parry (1803–1850), quarryman and deacon, and his second wife, Elizabeth (1804–1864), daughter of John Jones, joiner. From 1854 to 1856 he attended ...
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Parry, William John (1842–1927)
Maker: unknown photographer
In
William John Parry (1842–1927) by unknown photographer Gwynedd Archives and Museums Service
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Todd, Ronald [Ron] (1927–2005), trade unionist
Geoffrey Goodman
Todd, Ronald [Ron] (1927–2005), trade unionist, was born on 11 March 1927 at 4 Apsley Road, Walthamstow, Essex, the fifth of six children of George Thomas Todd, builder's labourer, and later builder, and his wife, Emily, née Pauline. His parents were also market traders in ...
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Turner, Victor Francis [Vic] (1927–2012), dockers' leader and trade unionist
David Lyddon
Turner, Victor Francis [Vic] (1927–2012), dockers' leader and trade unionist, was born on 3 October 1927 at 1 Ivy Road, Canning Town, London, close to the Royal Victoria Dock, the youngest of seven children of William John Turner, dock labourer, and his wife ...
