Henry William Sampson, OBE (12 May 1872 – 6 August 1938), often known as "Sammy", was an English-born South African trade unionist and politician. Born in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Sampson completed an apprenticeship as a compositor and joined the

London Society of Compositors The London Society of Compositors was a British trade union, representing print workers in London. History The union was founded as the London Union of Compositors in 1834 by the merger of the London Trade Society of Compositors and the Londo ...

. In 1892, he emigrated to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, where he joined the Cape Town Typographical Union, and was a founder of the Cape Town Trades Council. Following a strike, in 1897, he moved to East London, where he founded a local branch of the new

South African Typographical Union The South African Typographical Union (SATU) is a trade union representing workers in the printing and media industries in South Africa. The union was founded on 5 January 1898 by six local unions, including the Durban Typographical Society. Man ...

(SATU), serving as its president for five years. In 1903, Sampson moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

to become president of SATU, also becoming secretary of the Witwatersrand Trades Council. In these roles, he opposed Chinese immigration. He also founded the Transvaal Independent Labour Party (ILP), Transvaal Political Labour League, and the Transvaal Federation of Trade Unions. In 1907, Sampson was elected to the Transvaal Legislative Assembly for the ILP, representing the City and Suburban constituency. When the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

was established in 1910, he merged the ILP into the new

South African Labour Party The South African Labour Party ( af, Suid-Afrikaanse Arbeidersparty), was a South African political party formed in March 1910 in the newly created Union of South Africa following discussions between trade unions, the Transvaal Independent Lab ...

, becoming its first chairman. He was elected in the Commissioner Street constituency, later representing Siemert and Jeppes. In 1918, Sampson was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. He campaigned in support of miners suffering with

phthisis Phthisis may refer to: Mythology * Phthisis (mythology), Classical/Greco-Roman personification of rot, decay and putrefaction Medical terms * Phthisis bulbi, shrunken, nonfunctional eye * Phthisis miliaris, miliary tuberculosis * Phthisis pulmo ...

, and in 1924 the government offered him the chair of the Phthisis Board, but he rejected the post as he would have had to resign his Parliamentary seat. In 1925, he represented South Africa at the International Labour Conference in Geneva, and then at the British Commonwealth Labour Conference in London. The Labour Party split in two in 1928, and Sampson supported the section led by

Frederic Creswell Colonel Frederic Hugh Page Creswell DSO (13 November 1866 – 25 August 1948) was a Labour Party politician in South Africa. He was Minister of Defence from 30 June 1924 to 29 March 1933. Early life and family The son of Edmund Creswell, Depu ...

, which wished to remain part of the governing coalition. Sampson was appointed as Minister of Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services and Public Works. In 1931, the Labour Party reunited, but Sampson refused to leave the Cabinet, and so was expelled from the party. He lost his seat in 1933 and retired from politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Harry 1872 births 1938 deaths British emigrants to the Cape Colony People from Islington (district) Labour Party (South Africa) politicians South African trade unionists South African Officers of the Order of the British Empire