Sir Cyril Wilson Black (8 April 1902 – 29 October 1991) was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

from 1950 to his retirement at the 1970 general election. He resisted liberalisation of laws on divorce, homosexuality, alcohol licensing and gambling, and supported the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church.

Life and career

Black was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

on 8 April 1902, one of the six children of Robert Wilson Black (1871–1951) and his wife Annie Louise (''née'' North). He was educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The s ...

. He qualified as a

chartered surveyor Chartered Surveyor is the description (protected by law in many countries) of Professional ''Members'' and ''Fellows'' of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation (and a number of variations such as " Char ...

and became a successful property developer, making himself a millionaire before he reached the age of forty. In 1930 he married Dorothy Joyce, daughter of Thomas Birkett, of Wigston Hall, Leicester. They had one son and two daughters. Black was grandfather to Andrew Black, the gambling entrepreneur, founder of

Betfair Betfair is a British Gambling, gambling company founded in 2000. Its product offering includes betting exchange, sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London, alongsi ...

. Black served as a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Greater London. He was chairman of

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

from 1950 to 1964 and mayor of Merton from 1966 to 1967. He was knighted in 1959 for political and public services in Surrey. He was elected as a Conservative Party

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the House of Commons at the 1950 general election for the Wimbledon constituency. He held the seat until his retirement at the 1970 general election. Like his parents, Black was a strict

. Among his family's business empire was a chain of

teetotal Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

hotels; when the other directors voted to apply for a licence to serve alcohol, Black, a total abstainer, resigned and sold his shares in the company. He strove unsuccessfully against the Macmillan government's attempts to liberalise gambling laws, launch

Premium bonds Premium Bonds is a lottery bond scheme organised by the United Kingdom government since 1956. At present it is managed by the government's National Savings and Investments agency. The principle behind Premium Bonds is that rather than the s ...

, and reform the divorce laws. He campaigned in favour of

birching Birching is a form of corporal punishment with a birch rod, typically used to strike the recipient's bare buttocks, although occasionally the back and/or shoulders. Implement A birch rod (often shortened to "birch") is a bundle of leafless t ...

petty criminals, and against a wide range of targets, including

water fluoridation Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to Public water supply, public water supplies to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water maintains fluoride levels effective for cavity prevention, achieved naturally or through supplem ...

, the popular

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

comedy show ''

Round the Horne ''Round the Horne'' is a BBC Radio comedy programme starring Kenneth Horne, first transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The show was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman, who wrote the first three series. The f ...

'',Fletcher, pp. 18–19 and immigration. In 1965, in his capacity as "a far-right Conservative MP who took a lively interest in sexual matters", Black strenuously opposed liberalising the laws against homosexuals. He proposed that every MP who voted for reform should print in his or her next election address that they were "in favour of private sodomy". Black was one of a group of 15 Conservative MPs to vote against the

Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 (c. 9) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act The Act amended the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 (which had stripped most citizens of Commonwealth countries of the rights of entry, a ...

. Black privately prosecuted the novel ''

Last Exit to Brooklyn ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby Jr. The novel takes a harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s written in spare, stripped-down prose. Critics and fellow writers praised the b ...

'', when the government had decided on expert advice not to do so. He won the case in the lower courts, but on appeal the publisher,

John Calder John Mackenzie Calder (25 January 1927 – 13 August 2018) was a Scottish-Canadian writer and publisher who founded the company Calder Publishing in 1949. Biography Calder was born in Montreal, Canada, into the Calder family associated with th ...

, won, and, in the view of ''

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 ...

'', Calder's success virtually ended book censorship in Britain. Black unsuccessfully campaigned against the publication of

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, literary critic, travel writer, essayist, and painter. His modernist works reflect on modernity, social alienation ...

's ''

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the final novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Florence, Italy, and in 1929, in Paris, France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Ki ...

''. In 1970 he sued an American publisher and authors for libel. They had described him in print as "an evil person engaged in perversions". Black sought £1,000,000 damages and was awarded £43,000.Roth, Andrew. "No betting, no ginger beer", ''The Guardian'', 31 October 1991, p. 39 He also brought successful lawsuits against ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'' for suggesting that he profited from a conflict of interests between his local government and property-development activities, and '' Socialist Leader'' for calling him a racist. Black was chairman of Beaumont Properties Ltd from 1933 to 1980; chairman of the Temperance Permanent Building Society from 1939 to 1973; chairman of M. F. North Ltd 1948 to 1981; chairman of the London Shop Property Trust Ltd from 1951 to 1979; a member of the Board of Governors of

Monkton Combe School Monkton Combe School is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school), in the village of Monkton Combe near Bath in Somerset, England. History Monkton Combe School was founded in 1868 by the Revd. Francis Pocock, a former curate ...

from 1964 to 1969 and the director of a large number of other companies."Obituary: Sir Cyril Black", ''The Times'', 31 October 1991, p. 20 His private commercial interests were so extensive – he held 49 directorships – that an unsuccessful attempt was made to ban him from membership of the House of Commons."Obituary: Andrew Roth"
''The Daily Telegraph'', 13 August 2010 In a biographical essay for the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' Patrick Cosgrave wrote, Black died on 29 October 1991.

External links

* (855 noted)

Notes and references

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Cyril 1902 births 1991 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy lieutenants of the County of London English Baptists People educated at King's College School, London Members of Surrey County Council Mayors of places in Greater London UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 20th-century Baptists Governors of Monkton Combe School Deputy lieutenants of Greater London