James Rowlands (1 October 1851 – 1 March 1920) was a British

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

or Lib-Lab politician. He served as Liberal

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 ...

for East Finsbury and

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

, Kent. A son of William Bull Rowlands. He married in 1879 Kate Boyden who died in 1905. He was apprenticed to watch-case making. Early, he took an interest in politics; he organised registration in the borough of

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

. He was a member of the

London Municipal Reform League The London Municipal Reform League was a pressure group operating in the Metropolitan Board of Works, formed in 1881 by John Lloyd, having a Liberal Party outlook. Its president from 1882 was Joseph Firth Bottomley Firth. See also * London Municip ...

, organising the Finsbury branch and becoming its Hon. Secretary. He was MP for East Finsbury, 1886–95. He was President of the Gas Consumers’ Protection League in 1893 and Secretary of Leaseholds Enfranchisement Association. He was elected at the General Election 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, ...

, defeating the Unionist MP and

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

, Rt Hon. Sir

William Hart Dyke Sir William Hart Dyke, 7th Baronet PC, DL, JP (7 August 1837 – 3 July 1931) was an English Conservative politician and tennis pioneer. Background and education The second son of Sir Percival Hart Dyke, 6th Baronet and Elizabeth Wells, Ha ...

. He was defeated at the General Election of January 1910, but won his seat back at the General Election of December 1910. He sat in the House of Commons until his death in

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

. He took an active part in the international arbitration movement. He was a member of the last

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

. He was Hon. Secretary of the Land Law Reform Association. He took an active part in Parliament in promoting Bills for reform of the land laws for town and country, and the housing question.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, James 1851 births 1920 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal-Labour (UK) MPs UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the London School Board