Robert Brodie (died 1939) was a Scottish

trade unionist 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 (s ...

and political activist. Born in

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 ...

, Brodie became a flint glass worker and was active in the Flint Glass Makers' Sick and Friendly Society. From 1888, he represented the society on

Glasgow Trades Council {{Use British English, date=January 2018 Glasgow Trades Council is an association of trade union branches in Glasgow in Scotland. The trades council was founded in 1858 as the Glasgow United Trades Council.Archives Hub,Records of Glasgow District ...

, and he also joined both the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...

and the Scottish United Trades Councils Labour Party. In 1891, he stood for Glasgow School Board for the latter party.Jutta Schwarzkopf, "Marland, Annie", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.13, pp.237-242 Brodie stood in

Glasgow College , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

at the

1892 United Kingdom general election The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury again win the greatest number of seats, but no longer a majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won 80 more sea ...

. Although generally considered to be a Trades Councils Labour candidate, given his affiliation with the Scottish Labour Party, there is some uncertainty on this. He took only 221 votes, and was not elected. Following the election, he struggled to find work, and moved to

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 ...

, where he became active in the new

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

, and eventually found work as a manager at Birtwistle and Tate's Glass Works. He began a relationship with Annie Marland, the two having met through their shared interest in women's trade unionism, and the two married in 1895. Around 1900, Brodie and Marland moved to London, where Brodie worked as a journalist, and also began studying law. In 1912, they moved to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, Brodie becoming an instructor in musketry with the Canadian Militia, and worked at the Ross Rifle Factory during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He was relocated to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

in 1917, as an inspector of aeronautic supplies, and decided to remain in the country after the war, settling in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

, where he qualified as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodie, Robert Year of birth missing 1939 deaths Trade unionists from Edinburgh Trade unionists from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to the United States Scottish Labour Party (1888) politicians Glass makers