James Galloway Weir (6 July 1839 – 18 May 1911) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

businessman and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician.

Biography

Born in Scotland, he was the son of a builder, James Ross Weir. He was a pupil at

Dollar Academy Dollar Academy is a 5–18 Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational day and boarding school for boys and girls in Scotland. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, at the foot of the Ochil ...

before moving with his family to London as a young man. He worked as a travelling salesman for a haberdashery company before he went into business on his own account in 1863 importing

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

s. He retired from business in about 1879/80 to pursue politics full-time. Weir's brother, John Weir became the secretary of the

Fife and Kinross Miners' Association The Fife and Kinross Miners' Association was a coal miners' trade union based in Fife and Kinross-shire in Scotland. History The union was founded in 1869 or 1870, and proved immediately successful by achieving the eight-hour day for miners in th ...

. He unsuccessfully contested the Falkirk Burghs constituency in 1885, when he got a derisory vote. He was elected for

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

as one of five

Crofters' Party The Crofters' Party was the parliamentary arm of the Highland Land League. It gained five MPs in the 1885 general election and five in the election of the following year. The Highland Land League had started on the Isle of Skye, and in 1884 pr ...

MPs in 1892, transferring his allegiance to the mainstream

in 1895. He held the seat until his death. He was also elected to the

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 ...

in 1892 to represent

Islington East Islington East was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...

as a member of the majority Liberal-backed Progressive Party.''The London County Council Election'', The Times, 7 March 1892, p. 10 He died at his home in

Frognal Frognal is a small area of Hampstead, North West London in the London Borough of Camden. Frognal is reinforced as the name of a minor road, which goes uphill from Finchley Road and at its upper end is in the west of Hampstead village. Histor ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

in 1911 aged 71, and was buried at Marylebone Cemetery.

References

External links

* 1839 births 1911 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Scottish Liberal Party MPs UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Progressive Party (London) politicians Members of London County Council People educated at Dollar Academy Scottish justices of the peace 19th-century Scottish businesspeople 20th-century Scottish businesspeople {{Scotland-Liberal-UK-MP-stub