John William Wilson, PC, JP (22 October 1858 – 18 June 1932) was a British chemical manufacturer and politician who served for 27 years as a member of parliament (MP), initially as Liberal Unionist and then as a

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 ...

Background

Wilson was the eldest son of John Edward Wilson of Wyddrington,

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 ...

and Catherine Stacey of

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

. He was educated at Grove House School, Tottenham and in Germany. In 1883 he married Florence Jane Harrison who died in 1911. In 1919 he married Isabel Bannatyne. He served as 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 ...

in Worcestershire and Herefordshire. He worked for the chemical manufacturers

Albright and Wilson Albright and Wilson was founded in 1856 as a United Kingdom manufacturer of potassium chlorate and white phosphorus for the match industry. For much of its first 100 years of existence, phosphorus-derived chemicals formed the majority of its produ ...

Limited of Oldbury. He became a director of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

Company and of

Bryant and May Bryant & May was a British company created in the mid-19th century specifically to make matches. Their original Bryant & May Factory was located in Bow, London. They later opened other match factories in the United Kingdom and Australia, such ...

Limited.

Political career

Wilson was elected to

Worcestershire County Council Worcestershire County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Worcestershire in England. The most recent elections to it were in 2021. Worcestershire County Council has its headquarters at County Hall in Worcester, wh ...

, representing the Langley division. He was elected at the 1895 general election as Liberal Unionist MP for the Northern division of Worcestershire against a Liberal opponent. He was re-elected unopposed at the 1900 general election. Some time between then and 1906 he left the Liberal Unionists and joined the Liberal Party, and although he enjoyed no further uncontested elections he was returned to the House of Commons as a Liberal in

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, ...

and in both the January 1910 and

December 1910 The following events occurred in December 1910: December 1, 1910 (Thursday) * Porfirio Diaz was inaugurated for his eighth term as President of Mexico."Record of Current Events", ''The American Monthly Review of Reviews'' (January 1911), pp ...

elections. He was made a

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in July 1911. When constituencies were revised for the 1918 general election, Wilson was elected for the newly created Stourbridge division of Worcestershire. He had been opposed by candidates of both the Labour Party and the

National Democratic and Labour Party The National Democratic and Labour Party, usually abbreviated to National Democratic Party (NDP), was a short-lived political party in the United Kingdom. History The party's origins lay in a split by the right wing of the British Socialist Part ...

, the latter holding a " coalition coupon", and he won with only 38.5% of the votes. In

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

he faced only a Conservative opponent,

Douglas Pielou Douglas Percival Pielou (17 October 1887 – 9 January 1927) was a British soldier who was disabled from injuries received in the First World War and went on to become a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP). Pielou was born in Glasgow in 1887, t ...

, who won the seat. Wilson did not stand 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 ...

again.

Electoral record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John William 1858 births 1932 deaths Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom