Sir John Williams Benn, 1st Baronet, DL (13 November 1850 – 10 April 1922) was a British politician, particularly associated with

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

politics. He was the father of the politician William Benn, and the grandfather of the politician

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...

Life and career

Benn was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, to a middle-class family, the eldest son of a Congregationalist minister, the Reverend Julius Benn (c. 1826–1883), and grandson of William Benn, but his parents moved the family to east

the following year, where they opened an institute for homeless boys. Benn was largely homeschooled and at the age of seventeen, he joined a

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...

company. He later (1880) established a trade journal, ''The Cabinet Maker'', which eventually became the furniture trade's leading publication: when politics became his main interest, the family's publishing business, Benn Brothers, was taken over by his eldest son Ernest Benn (1875–1954), who later renamed it Ernest Benn Limited. His niece was actress Margaret Rutherford; she was the daughter of Benn's younger brother

William Rutherford Benn William Rutherford Benn, later William Rutherford, (1855-1921) was an English translator and journalist, and a member of the political Benn family. In 1883 he murdered his father, the Reverend Julius Benn, and was detained at Broadmoor Criminal Lu ...

, who was put into a lunatic asylum following his murder of their father, the Rev. Julius Benn. When 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 kn ...

was established in January 1889, Benn accepted an invitation to stand as a

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

candidate for East Finsbury and was elected. Like his contemporary

Will Crooks William Crooks (6 April 1852 – 5 June 1921) was a noted trade unionist and politician from Poplar, London, and a member of the Fabian Society. He is particularly remembered for his campaigning work against poverty and inequality. Early life ...

, Benn was active in the

London Dock Strike of 1889 The London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers and established strong trade unions amongst London dockers, one of whi ...

, and, as an increasingly prominent local politician, was invited in 1891 to stand for Parliament as the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate for St George Division of Tower Hamlets. He won election from the constituency the following year. He was later narrowly defeated at the general election in 1895, but he concentrated on his continuing work as a London councillor, helping introduce electric

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

s to London's streets in 1903. A year later, he returned to Parliament after winning a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

at Devonport, a seat he retained until being defeated in 1910. In the meantime his son, 28-year-old

William Wedgwood Benn William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate, (10 May 1877 – 17 November 1960) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who later joined the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. A decorated Royal Air Force officer, he was Secretary ...

, had also been elected to Parliament, winning Benn's former seat at St. George in 1906. Benn senior was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in February 1905. For his work as an MP, he was knighted in 1906 and 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 14t ...

in 1914. John Benn remained a member of the London County Council until his death in 1922, leading the Progressive Party until ill-health forced him to relinquish that role in 1918. In his final election campaign he was victorious, defeating the Labour Group Leader.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benn, John Williams 1850 births 1922 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of the County of London Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of London County Council Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Politicians from Manchester UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Progressive Party (London) politicians

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Devon Knights Bachelor Politicians from Plymouth, Devon