James William Cleland (1874 – 21 October 1914) was a Scottish

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politician and

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Background

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1874, the son of Charles Cleland, a manufacturer. He was educated at

The Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent s ...

before moving south to complete his education at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where he graduated with honours in the School of

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. In 1897, whilst at University he became

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.Who'sWho

Career

In 1899 he was called to the Bar at

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. He returned to his native Glasgow to contest the 1900 General Election as Liberal candidate for Bridgeton, but was unsuccessful; He returned to London and soon became active in politics in London and in 1901 he was elected to the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

for the Liberal backed

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, representing

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

. As part of the ruling administration, he was appointed Chairman of Parks and Establishment Committees. In 1903 he stood for parliament as Liberal candidate at the Lewisham by-election, finishing second; After this unsuccessful attempt, he was re-elected in 1904 to the London County Council, again for Lewisham. In 1906 he again returned to his native Glasgow to contest the 1906 General Election as Liberal candidate for Bridgeton and was elected; In 1907 he did not seek re-election to the London County Council so that he could concentrate on his parliamentary duties. After one full parliamentary term, he sought re-election and was successful; He chose not to defend his seat at the December 1910 General Election and did not stand for parliament again. He remained single throughout his life and died in 1914 at the age of 40.

References

Sources

Who's Who; http://www.ukwhoswho.com

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleland, James William 1874 births 1914 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 Scottish Liberal Party MPs Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Members of London County Council Presidents of the Oxford Union