Sir William Dingwall Mitchell Cotts, 1st Baronet,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

(15 July 1871 – 20 January 1932) was a Scottish businessman and

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.

Personal life and career

Cotts was born at Sanquhar in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the son of William Cotts. He was educated privately and at Wallace Hall Academy. In 18 March 1901, he married Agnes Sloane who was also from Sanquhar and they had two sons and a daughter. Cotts obtained his early business training in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

and

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and went in 1895 to South Africa, where he developed important business interests, realising the potential of the Natal coalfields and the transport and other infrastructure that was needed to support the coal and gold mining industries. He also had business interests in Britain and was sometime head of Mitchell, Cotts & Co. of London. The company traded as general merchants, owned collieries and steamships.

Political and public life

Cotts contested the Western Isles constituency at the 1918 general election as a Coalition Liberal but narrowly failed to take the seat which was won by an Independent Liberal, Dr Donald Murray with a majority of 390 votes. Cotts fought Murray for the seat again 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 ...

standing as a National Liberal, i.e. a supporter of the

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. This time he won, with a majority of 939. He served as MP until

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

but did contest any further Parliamentary elections. Cotts was 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 ...

for the

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and was appointed a

Knight Commander 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 ...

(KBE) in 1919 for services to recruiting. He served on the Council of

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

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Homes for Little Boys. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 15 June 1921.

Death and heir

Cotts died suddenly at the age of 60 while travelling to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

for medical treatment. He was succeeded in the Cotts baronetcy by his son William. Sir William Campbell Mitchell-Cotts (1902–1964), a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

contested the

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constituency at the 1929 general election as a Conservative. Mitchell-Cotts was in 1928 unpaid private secretary to

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician

Duff Cooper Alfred Duff Cooper, 1st Viscount Norwich, (22 February 1890 – 1 January 1954), known as Duff Cooper, was a British Conservative Party politician and diplomat who was also a military and political historian. First elected to Parliament in 192 ...

.''Who was Who'', OUP, 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotts, William Dingwall Mitchell 1871 births 1932 deaths UK MPs 1922–1923 Scottish Liberal Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Scottish businesspeople National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians