The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Angus McDonnell (7 June 1881 – 22 April 1966) was a British

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, diplomat and Conservative Party politician.

Early life

He was the second son of William Randal McDonnell, 6th Earl of Antrim, and

Louisa McDonnell, Countess of Antrim Louisa Jane McDonnell, Countess of Antrim, VA (''née'' Grey; 15 February 1855 – 2 April 1949) was a British noblewoman and courtier. Biography Lady Antrim was born at St James's Palace, the daughter of Gen. Hon. Charles Grey (a son of the ...

. After his education at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, he briefly entered business as a

merchant banker A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commod ...

with

Morgan Grenfell Morgan, Grenfell & Co. was a leading London-based investment bank regarded as one of the oldest and once most influential British merchant banks. It had its origins in a merchant banking business commenced by George Peabody. Junius Spencer Morga ...

. He subsequently moved to the United States, where he worked for

Chiswell Langhorne Colonel Chiswell Dabney Langhorne (November 4, 1843 – February 14, 1919) was an American railroad industrialist. He was the father of Nancy Witcher Langhorne and the maternal grandfather of both Joyce Grenfell and Michael Langhorne Astor. Ea ...

in constructing railways in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. McDonnell became a close friend of Langhorne's daughter

Nancy Astor Nancy Witcher Astor, Viscountess Astor (19 May 1879 – 2 May 1964) was an American-born British politician who was the first woman seated as a Member of Parliament (MP), serving from 1919 to 1945. Astor was born in Danville, Virginia and rai ...

. With the outbreak of the

First World War 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 ...

, he served with the railway troops reserve of the

1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed and ...

in constructing railways behind the lines of the Western Front and rose to the rank of colonel.

Political career

He returned to the United Kingdom, where he was chosen by the Conservative Party to contest the constituency of

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...

at the 1924 general election. He narrowly defeated the sitting Labour Party member of parliament,

John Edmund Mills John Edmund Mills (2 September 1882 – 11 November 1951) was Labour MP for Dartford (UK Parliament constituency), Dartford for three separate periods during the 1920s. Born in Perth in Australia, Mills grew up in Plymouth, being educated at the ...

. McDonnell had little interest in Parliament, did not defend the seat 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 ...

and returned to his business activities.

Washington honorary attaché

When America entered the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1941, McDonnell was appointed Honorary Attaché to Washington, D.C. where he was able to use his personal and business contacts to assist

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...

British Ambassador to the United States The British ambassador to the United States is in charge of the British Embassy, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the United States of A ...

. McDonnell was a capable aide to the British Ambassador, Lord Halifax. He would be the advance agent to Halifax's speeches and planned a punishing schedule of talks by the ambassador to the American public. His contacts enabled Halifax to further his influence in American political and commercial circles. The role of Ambassador was not one that came easily to Halifax, who greatly relied upon the aid that McDonnell provided.

Personal life and death

He married actress Ethelwyne Sylvia Arthur Jones, the daughter of dramatist

Henry Arthur Jones Henry Arthur Jones (20 September 1851 – 7 January 1929) was an English dramatist, who was first noted for his melodrama '' The Silver King'' (1882), and went on to write prolifically, often appearing to mirror Ibsen from the opposite (conserva ...

, on 13 December 1913. They had no issue, and she died in 1948. He died at 84 at his home in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, in April 1966.

References

External links