Sir George Toulmin (17 March 1857 – 21 January 1923) was an English

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, newspaper proprietor and

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 ...

politician.

Family and education

George Toulmin was born in

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, the son of Councillor George Toulmin JP of Preston. He was educated at the

Grammar School A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

in Preston. In 1882 he married Mary Elizabeth Edelston from Preston, the daughter of a local

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

; they had two sons and two daughters. In religion Toulmin was a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

Career

Toulmin began as a journalist but eventually rose to the top of his profession. From 1860 he took over the ownership of the ''

Preston Guardian ''Farmers Guardian'' is a weekly newspaper aimed at the British farming industry. It provides comprehensive and topical news with Livestock, Arable and Machinery sections; as well as business information and latest market prices. It is sold na ...

'' newspaper. In 1886, he founded the ''Lancashire Daily Post'', becoming its managing director. With the help of his brother he had also established the ''

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Times'' and the ''

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

Examiner.'' He was Chairman of the

Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...

from 1919 to 1920, was sometime Hon. Treasurer of the Newspaper Society as well as a Fellow of the

Institute of Journalists The Chartered Institute of Journalists is a professional association for journalists and is the senior such body in the UK and the oldest in the world. History The ''Chartered Institute of Journalists'' was proposed during a meeting in Manches ...

Politics

Toulmin first stood for

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 ...

at the 1900 general election when he represented the Liberal Party at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

standing under the description of Radical. Two years later he got the chance to contest the seat again when the sitting

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

MP, James Kenyon resigned causing a by-election in Bury. Toulmin was re-adopted by Bury Liberal Association and he gained the seat at the by-election which was held on 10 May 1902, turning a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

majority of 849 into a Liberal one of 414. Toulmin held his seat at the general elections of

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, January 1910 and December 1910. However, in

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

, despite supporting the

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...

and being awarded the

Coalition coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

, he lost Bury to the Conservatives in a three-cornered contest. He did not stand for 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. ...

again.

Interests, honours and other appointments

Like many Liberals of the day, Toulmin was pre-occupied with social questions and the need for

social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

and improvement. In February 1908, he introduced a Bill into the House of Commons designed to establish wages boards to fix

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

s in certain trades. Among the Parliamentary bodies Toulmin sat on were the National Health Insurance Joint Committee, set up under the

National Insurance Act 1911 The National Insurance Act 1911 created National Insurance, originally a system of health insurance for industrial workers in Great Britain based on contributions from employers, the government, and the workers themselves. It was one of the foun ...

and the

Select Committee Select committee may refer to: *Select committee (parliamentary system), a committee made up of a small number of parliamentary members appointed to deal with particular areas or issues *Select or special committee (United States Congress) *Select ...

on London Motor Traffic to look into the increasing number of fatal traffic accidents due to motor omnibus and other power-driven vehicles, of which he was Chairman. His committee recommended setting up a new traffic authority, increased powers to control traffic by

County Councils A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

, special

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

s and greater education and awareness for schoolchildren of traffic dangers. Toulmin was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1911. He was also a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for the

County Borough of Preston Preston Municipal Borough, also known as the County Borough of Preston from 1889, was a local government district coterminate with the town of Preston in Lancashire, northwest England from 1836 to 1974. Preston was one of only a few industri ...

(1897) and for Lancashire (1906).

Death

Toulmin died on 21 January 1923, aged 65 years.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toulmin, George 1857 births 1923 deaths 19th-century British newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century British newspaper publishers (people) Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Politics of Lancashire People from Bolton People educated at Preston Grammar School