Harry Louis Nathan, 1st Baron Nathan, (2 February 1889 – 23 October 1963) was a British Liberal politician who from 1934 onwards represented the Labour Party. He served two

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

seats non-consecutively and while serving the second seat was elevated to the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

(by the creation of his peerage); five years later he served in two positions consecutively as a government minister in the

Attlee Ministry Clement Attlee was invited by King George VI to form the first Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom on 26 July 1945, succeeding Winston Churchill as prime minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party (UK), Labour Party had won a landslide ...

until 1948.

Early life

Nathan was born in London in 1889, son of Michael Henry Nathan, a fine art publisher and

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. Educated at St Paul's School, he became a solicitor and member of the firm of Herbert Oppenheimer, Nathan and Vandyk. He became honorary secretary of the Brady Working Lads' Club, the oldest and largest of the London Jewish Lads' Clubs (now

JLGB The JLGB (Jewish Lads' and Girls' Brigade) is a national Jewish Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation based in and primarily serving the United Kingdom. The UK's oldest Jewish youth movement, it was founded in 1895 as ...

). Nathan served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, leaving with the rank of Major. He acted as honorary solicitor to the

Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

which promoted the re-establishment of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Politics

He stood as the Liberal candidate in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

for Whitechapel and St. George's without success. He was a member of the Liberal Industrial Inquiry which prepared '' Britain's Industrial Future'', also known as the ''Liberal Yellow Book''. He was first elected in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bethnal Green North East and was re-elected in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. Along with many other Anglo-Jewish communal leaders, Nathan was a founding member of the

Central British Fund for German Jewry The Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, formerly Central British Fund for German Jewry, (CBF) which currently operates under the name World Jewish Relief (WJR), is a British Charitable organization, charitable organisation and the main ...

renamed some years after his death.Gottlieb, Amy Zahl. ''Men of Vision: Anglo-Jewry's Aid to Victims of the Nazi Regime, 1933–1945''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998, p.26 In 1934, he defected to the Labour Party. Labour won the seat at the 1935 general election but Nathan was not their candidate; he opted instead to stand in Cardiff South. He lost by 1.8% of the votes cast, a small increase in the two-party swing his campaign saw – of 271 votes – would have seen him elected.''British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949'',

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

In 1937, Nathan returned to Parliament in a by-election in Wandsworth Central as the Labour candidate. He in turn stepped down in 1940 to make way for

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...

, and was created a hereditary peer as Baron Nathan, of Churt in the

County of Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking. The cou ...

on 28 June 1940. He continued in active politics from the

, serving as

Under-Secretary of State for War Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is a ...

(1945–46 and Minister for Civil Aviation (4 October 1946 – 31 May 1948). He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1946.

Family

His wife Eleanor Nathan was Chairman of

London County Council The 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 ...

(1947–1948). He was succeeded to the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

y by his son

Roger Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...

(1922–2007). His daughter, Joyce, was married to Bernard Waley-Cohen, later the 633rd

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, and the son of

Robert Waley Cohen Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE (8 September 1877 – 27 November 1952) was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry. Early life Robert Waley Cohen was born on 8 September 1877 to a prominent Jewish family. His father was Na ...

, an industrialist and fellow leading member of the Central British Fund for German Jewry.

Arms

References

Bibliography

* *''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' obituary, 25 October 1963

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nathan, Harry 1st Baron Nathan 1889 births 1963 deaths Jewish English politicians English solicitors Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Attlee governments, 1945–1951

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

People educated at St Paul's School, London UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs who were granted peerages War Office personnel in World War II 20th-century English lawyers Barons created by George VI 1 Military personnel from London British Army personnel of World War I Royal Fusiliers officers