Sir William Maxwell (30 November 1841 – 9 February 1929) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

activist. 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 ...

, Maxwell largely grew up in Paisley, but returned to Glasgow when he was ten, and became an apprentice coachbuilder two years later. He successfully completed the apprenticeship, having also studied in his spare time at the Glasgow School of Design, and travelled around the country, looking for work.Mai Alman and Joyce Bellamy, "Maxwell, Sir William", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.I, pp.234-235 By the mid-1860s, Maxwell had returned to Glasgow, where he became active in the local trade union movement. He moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

early in the 1870s, and there he became active in the

St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society The St. Cuthbert's Co-operative Society was a consumers' co-operative in Scotland. Taking its name from St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh, it opened its first shop in Ponton Street, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh in 1859. The society was part of the co ...

. In 1878, he was elected as its secretary, serving for four years. This led him to prominence in the

Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

(SCWS), serving on its board from 1880, and as president from 1908 onwards. Maxwell was interested in co-operative production, and visited the United States in 1884 to study developments there. On his return to Scotland, he led the construction of a series of factories in

Shieldhall Shieldhall is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated directly south of the River Clyde and is part of the wider Govan area. Location and history Taking its name from the country estate which occupied the territory until the ...

, making goods for the SCWS. He served repeatedly as president of the

Co-operative Congress The Co-operative Congress is the national conference of the UK Co-operative Movement. The first of the modern congresses took place in 1869 following a series of meetings called the "Owenite Congress" in the 1830s. Members of Co-operatives UK (p ...

, and in 1907 became president of the

International Co-operative Alliance The International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental co-operative federation or, more precisely, a co-operative union representing co-operatives and the co-operative movement worldwide. It was founded in 1895 to unite, represent an ...

, serving until 1921. Maxwell was also interested in the political representation of the co-operative movement, and he stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal-Labour candidate in Glasgow Tradeston at the

1900 UK general election The 1900 United Kingdom general election was held between 26 September and 24 October 1900, following the dissolution of Parliament on 25 September. Also referred to as the Khaki Election (the first of several elections to bear this sobriquet), ...

. In 1910, he wrote the ''History of Co-operation in Scotland''. He was knighted in 1919, and retired from all his posts two years later, due to poor health. He relocated to

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

, where he lived until his death in 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, William 1841 births 1929 deaths Liberal-Labour (UK) politicians Trade unionists from Glasgow Presidents of Co-operative Congress