Thomas Birtwistle (16 October 1833 – 22 March 1912) was an English trade unionist and factory inspector. Born in

Great Harwood Great Harwood is a town in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire, England, located north east of Blackburn and adjacent to the Ribble Valley. Great Harwood is the major conurbation of the 'Three Towns'; the three towns being Great Harwood, Clayton- ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, he worked in a

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

from the age of six, becoming a power-loom weaver at the age of fourteen. In spite of limited education, he had a flair for mathematics and was skilled at working out the complicated the way cotton workers were paid. This led to involvement in the early

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

movementOxford Dictionary of National Biography - subscription based. Accessed 16 June 2011
/ref> where he worked to enable British trade unions to gain recognition, respectability, and responsibility in the second half of the 19th century. He died in Accrington.

Union activity

He was a leading figure during the 1858

lock-out A lockout is a work stoppage or denial of employment initiated by the management of a company during a labour dispute. In contrast to a strike, in which employees refuse to work, a lockout is initiated by employers or industry owners. Lockouts ...

at Great Harwood. When there were strikes at

Padiham Padiham ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Calder, about west of Burnley, Lancashire, England. It forms part of the Borough of Burnley. Originally by the River Calder, it is edged by the foothills of Pendle Hill to the north-west ...

in 1859) and

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

in 1860, he was elected to the council of the new North-East Lancashire Powerloom Weavers' Association. This enable co-operation between works in different towns. In 1861 he became its full-time secretary, and held the post until 1892. He represented the North East Association at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances ...

from 1872 and was on its parliamentary committee from 1875-1889, and was its chairman in 1881. In 1885, he became one of the country's first working-class JPs. In 1892, however, he was appointed by the government as a factory inspector (duties now carried out by the Health and Safety Executive), responsible for implementing parts of the Factory Act 1891.

Personal life

He married a fellow weaver, Ellen Butterworth, who predeceased him, when he was 20. He died at his home, 17 St James's Street, Accrington, on 22 March 1912 and was buried in Accrington cemetery. He was survived by his second wife, Mary.

References

1833 births 1912 deaths Factory inspectors General Secretaries of the Amalgamated Weavers' Association General Secretaries of the United Textile Factory Workers' Association Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress People from Great Harwood 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub