George Dixon (1820 – 24 January 1898) was an English

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

then

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

politician who was active in local government in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

and sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

in two periods between 1867 and 1898. He was a major proponent of education for all children.

Life

Born in 1820 in

Gomersal Gomersal is a town in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. History Gomersal was attested ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, he was educated at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physically ...

and learned French in France. He moved to Birmingham in 1838 with his brother and joined Rabone Brothers, a firm of merchants. He became a partner in 1844 and rose to become head of the firm in which he remained all his life. Dixon entered local government as a councillor for

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

in Birmingham in 1863. He was elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

in November 1866. In July 1867 he resigned office to become a parliamentary candidate for

after the death of

William Scholefield William Scholefield (August 1809 – 9 July 1867) was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was a leading figure in the politics of the rapidly growing industrial town of Birmingham in the mid-nineteenth century, serving as the first ...

. He was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) on 23 July 1867. He was elected to the

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in 1870, and chairman in 1876, after retiring from parliament when his wife became ill. He resigned from the board in 1896. In 1885 he became MP for

and continued in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

until his death in 1898.

Education for all

One of his first achievements as Mayor in early 1867 was a private conference he held in his house for the leading men of the town to discuss a possible remedy for the lack of education for children. In March a public meeting was held in the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

where the Birmingham Education Society was formed along the lines of one created in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in 1864. The society raised money to pay the school fees of some children, and raised awareness of the need. The Education Societies paved the way for the bolder and more political

National Education League The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control. The National Education League, founded 1869, developed from the Birmingham Education Lea ...

which started in Birmingham in 1869, chaired by Dixon, with support from

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the Cons ...

(vice-chairman, later chairman of the executive committee),

Jesse Collings Jesse Collings (2 December 1831 – 20 November 1920) was Mayor of Birmingham, England, a Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) member of Parliament, but was best known nationally in the UK as an advocate of educational reform and land reform.Ashb ...

(honorary secretary of the League, and of the Education Aid Society), R. W. Dale, and

William Harris William or Will or Willie Harris may refer to: Politicians and political activists *William Harris (born 1504) (1504–?), MP for Newport, Cornwall * William Harris (died 1556), MP for Maldon * William Harris (MP, died 1709) (c. 1652–1709), Engl ...

. The League resolved that a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

should be prepared for the next session of Parliament to give non-sectarian education to all children. After some political promises and compromise the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870, commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities with defined powers, autho ...

(Forster's Act) was passed, meeting some of the requirements of the League, and the first

School board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

s were elected. The League continued to campaign for a further seven years and elementary education (to age 12) eventually became free and compulsory in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. In 1867 Dixon introduced a bill to establish school boards in areas where there were already sufficient schools. This bill was rejected. One of Dixon's experiments was the creation in 1884 of Bridge Street Technical School in the old

Cadbury's Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mars ...

premises, bought by him, converted to a school at his own expense, and leased to the board at a nominal rent. It taught science and mechanics to 400 of the brighter boys for two years beyond normal school leaving age. This was a great success and was repeated in large towns across the country, and led to the Technical Instruction Act, which formalised the finance of this type of school. In 1888 the technical school moved to occupy the

Oozells Street Board School Oozells Street Board School was a Victorian board school in Oozells Street, off Broad Street in Birmingham, England. It is a Grade II listed building. Designed in 1877 by local architects Martin & Chamberlain, responsible for over forty of th ...

as the George Dixon Higher Grade School and included girls. Waverley Road Higher Grade School was created in

Small Heath Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. Th ...

in 1892 for 555 children. Dixon was made an honorary freeman of Birmingham in 1898, the year he died.

Legacy

Dixon established Bridge Street Technical School in 1884: when it moved to new premises in 1888 it was renamed George Dixon Higher Grade School; and when it was rebuilt in 1906, George Dixon School. Its successor schools are George Dixon Primary School and

George Dixon Academy George Dixon Academy is a school in north Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. Former names include George Dixon Higher Grade School, George Dixon Grammar School, George Dixon Community School, George Dixon Grant Maintained School and George Dixon Int ...

. Indirectly, Dixon gave his name to the fictional character PC George Dixon, who first appeared in the film ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that ...

'' (1950), produced by a former pupil at George Dixon School, Sir

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

, and subsequently in the TV series ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'' (1955–1976).

Family

In 1855 Dixon married Mary Stansfeld (died 1885), sister of politician

James Stansfeld Sir James Stansfeld, (; 5 March 182017 February 1898) was a British Radical and Liberal politician and social reformer who served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1866), Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1869–71) and President of ...

, and daughter of James Stansfeld, a judge in Halifax. The architect

Arthur Stansfield Dixon Arthur Stansfeld Dixon (26 August 1856 – 8 January 1929) was an English metal worker and architect. Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, he was the eldest son of education reformer and MP George Dixon. He founded the Birmingham Guild of Handicraf ...

was their son: in all they had three sons and five daughters.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
George Dixon Academy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, George 1820 births 1898 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Mayors of Birmingham, West Midlands History of Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at Leeds Grammar School People from Gomersal UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 History of education in the United Kingdom