William Crawford (1833 – 1 July 1890) was an English miner, trade unionist, and 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 ...
politician.
Crawford was born at
Cullercoats
Cullercoats is a coastal settlement in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Historically in Northumberland, it has now been absorbed into the wider Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth to the ...
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
and worked in Hartley Coal Mines from the age of 10. In 1862 he actively opposed the attempt of the Northumberland mine owners to impose the system of yearly hiring. He became Secretary of the Durham Miners' Association in 1863, and spoke frequently at the Durham Miner's Gala He was briefly secretary of the breakaway Northumberland Miners' Mutual Confident Association.
In 1885 Crawford was elected
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
Mid Durham and held the seat until his death aged 57. From 1889 to 1890 he was a member of the Institute of Mining Engineers. Crawford was a chief promoter of the
College of the Venerable Bede,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
and acted as its treasurer until his death.
References
External links
*
1833 births
1890 deaths
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1885–1886
UK MPs 1886–1892
English miners
British trade union leaders
People from Cullercoats
Politicians from Tyne and Wear
Trade unionists from Tyne and Wear
Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress
19th-century British businesspeople
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