Alden, Sir Percy (1865–1944), social worker and politician, was born at Walton Street, in St Thomas's parish, Oxford, on 6 June 1865, the third of six sons (there was also a daughter) of Isaac Alden (b. 1834), a master butcher, and his wife, ...
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Alden, Sir Percy (1865–1944), social worker and politician
M. C. Curthoys and Tim Wales
Article
Arnold, Sydney, Baron Arnold (1878–1945), politician
Mark Pottle
Arnold, Sydney, Baron Arnold (1878–1945), politician, was born at Hazel Bank, Hazel Road, Altrincham, on 13 January 1878, the son of William Ashness Arnold, stockbroker, and his wife, Sarah Anne, daughter of Charles Linney. Baptized at Bowden Downs Congregational Church, he was educated at ...
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Asquith, Herbert Henry, first earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852–1928), prime minister
H. C. G. Matthew
Asquith, Herbert Henry, first earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852–1928), prime minister, was born on 12 September 1852 at Croft House, Morley, Yorkshire. He was registered at birth as Herbert Asquith, and was known by that name until he was about forty, being called ...
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Asquith, Herbert Henry, first earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852–1928)
Maker: George Charles Beresford
In
Herbert Henry Asquith, first earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852–1928) by George Charles Beresford, 1908 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Baines, Sir Edward (1800–1890), journalist, politician, and educationist
J. R. Lowerson
Baines, Sir Edward (1800–1890), journalist, politician, and educationist, was born in Leeds on 28 May 1800, the second son of Edward Baines (1774–1848), editor of the Leeds Mercury, and his wife, Charlotte, daughter of Matthew Talbot, a Leeds currier. Matthew Talbot Baines and ...
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Balfour, Jabez Spencer (1843–1916), company promoter and politician
Duncan Bythell
Balfour, Jabez Spencer (1843–1916), company promoter and politician, was born in Marylebone, Middlesex, on 4 September 1843, the younger son of James Balfour (1796–1884) and Clara Lucas Balfour (1808–1878), who were prominent workers in the mid-Victorian temperance movement. Balfour's career is best understood in the context of the increasingly prominent part played by militant middle-class nonconformists in the business world, in the ...
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Batchelor, John (1820–1883), politician and businessman
Neil Evans
Batchelor, John (1820–1883), politician and businessman, was born on 10 April in Newport, Monmouthshire, the second son among the twelve children of Benjamin Batchelor, a timber merchant and shipbuilder. He was educated locally in a private school before being apprenticed to his father. He subsequently visited shipyards in ...
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Benn, Sir John Williams, first baronet (1850–1922), publisher and politician
Marc Brodie
Benn, Sir John Williams, first baronet (1850–1922), publisher and politician, was born at Hyde, Cheshire, on 13 November 1850, the eldest child of the Revd Julius Benn (1826–1883), Congregational minister, and his wife, Ann Taylor (d. 1890). The family settled in Stepney...
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Benn, Sir John Williams, first baronet (1850–1922)
Maker: Sir George Clausen
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Sir John Williams Benn, first baronet (1850–1922) by Sir George Clausen, 1906 Guildhall Art Gallery, Corporation of London
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Bessell, Peter Joseph (1921–1985), politician and businessman
Robert Ingham
Bessell, Peter Joseph (1921–1985), politician and businessman, was born on 24 August 1921 at Elm Bank Nursing Home, Bath, the only son of Joseph Edgar Bessell, tailor, and his wife, Olive Simons Hawkins. His parents divorced in 1926 and Bessell was brought up by his father. Educated at ...
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Bondfield, Margaret Grace (1873–1953)
Maker: Bassano
In
Margaret Grace Bondfield (1873–1953) by Bassano, 1922 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Bondfield, Margaret Grace (1873–1953), trade unionist, campaigner for women's interests, and politician
Philip Williamson
Bondfield, Margaret Grace (1873–1953), trade unionist, campaigner for women's interests, and politician, was born on 17 March 1873 at Chard, Somerset, the tenth of eleven children and third of four daughters of William Bondfield (1814–1901), foreman laceworker, and his wife, Anne Taylor (1827?–1911)...
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Cossham, Handel (1824–1890), colliery owner and politician
Dolores E. Powell
Cossham, Handel (1824–1890), colliery owner and politician, was born on 31 March 1824 at Fore Street, Thornbury, Gloucestershire, in the same room where his father and grandfather had been delivered, the son of Jesse Cossham (1799–1887), a carpenter, and his wife, Sarah, née...
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Crooks, William [Will] (1852–1921), politician
John Shepherd
Crooks, William [Will] (1852–1921), politician, was born on 6 April 1852 at 2 Shirbutt Street, a one-roomed house near the docks at Poplar in the East End of London. He was the third of seven children of Caroline, née Coates (b. c...
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Crooks, William (1852–1921)
Maker: Sir Benjamin Stone
In
William Crooks (1852–1921) by Sir Benjamin Stone, 1905 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Cushing, Thomas (1725–1788), merchant and politician
Troy O. Bickham
Cushing, Thomas (1725–1788), merchant and politician, was born on 24 March 1725 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas Cushing (b. 1694), leading merchant and public official, and Mary Bromfield (b. 1696). Little is known of Thomas's early life, but he was probably brought up in the expectation that he would one day take over the family business from his father. He attended ...
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Cutt, John (bap. 1613, d. 1681), merchant and politician
David E. Van Deventer
Cutt, John (bap. 1613, d. 1681), merchant and politician, was baptized in Bath, the second of six children of John Cutt (1563–1625), a merchant, and his second wife, Bridget, the daughter of Arthur Baker of Aust in Gloucestershire. Almost nothing is known regarding the first thirty years of his life. His younger brother ...
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Desborough [Disbrowe], Samuel (1619–1690), politician and administrator
Stephen Wright
Desborough [Disbrowe], Samuel (1619–1690), politician and administrator, was born in November 1619 at Eltisley, Cambridgeshire, probably at the Old House, built in 1612 on the site of the rectory for his father, James Desborough, or Disbrowe (1582–1638), landowner and lord of the manor of ...
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Dudley, Paul (1675–1751), politician and judge in America
William Pencak
Dudley, Paul (1675–1751), politician and judge in America, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, on 3 September 1675, the fourth of thirteen children of Massachusetts governor Joseph Dudley (1647–1720) and Rebecca Tyng (1651–1722). He graduated from Harvard College in 1690 after his father had been briefly imprisoned and ousted for his role in the dominion of ...
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Edwards, (Allen) Clement (1869–1938), trade unionist, barrister, and journalist
Duncan Tanner
Edwards, (Allen) Clement (1869–1938), trade unionist, barrister, and journalist, was born on 7 June 1869 in Knighton, Radnorshire, the third of seven children born to George Benjamin Edwards, auctioneer, master tailor, and draper, and Sarah Ellen (née Tudge). Both parents came from farming, nonconformist, and radical families in the border areas. ...
