George Dixon (1820 – 24 January 1898) was an English

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 ...

then

Liberal Unionist The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...

politician who was active in local government in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in two periods between 1867 and 1898. He was a major proponent of education for all children.

Life

Born in 1820 in Gomersal,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, he was educated at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physica ...

and learned French in France. He moved to Birmingham in 1838 with his brother and joined Rabone Brothers, a firm of merchants. He became a partner in 1844 and rose to become head of the firm in which he remained all his life. Dixon entered local government as a councillor for

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...

in Birmingham in 1863. He was elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

in November 1866. In July 1867 he resigned office to become a parliamentary candidate for

after the death of

William Scholefield William Scholefield (August 1809 – 9 July 1867) was a British businessman and Liberal politician. He was a leading figure in the politics of the rapidly growing industrial town of Birmingham in the mid-nineteenth century, serving as the firs ...

. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) on 23 July 1867. He was elected to the

School Board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

in 1870, and chairman in 1876, after retiring from parliament when his wife became ill. He resigned from the board in 1896. In 1885 he became MP for

and continued in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

until his death in 1898.

Education for all

One of his first achievements as Mayor in early 1867 was a private conference he held in his house for the leading men of the town to discuss a possible remedy for the lack of education for children. In March a public meeting was held in the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

where the Birmingham Education Society was formed along the lines of one created in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

in 1864. The society raised money to pay the school fees of some children, and raised awareness of the need. The Education Societies paved the way for the bolder and more political

National Education League The National Education League was a political movement in England and Wales which promoted elementary education for all children, free from religious control. It was founded in 1869 and dissolved in 1877. It developed from the Birmingham Education ...

which started in Birmingham in 1869, chaired by Dixon, with support from

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal Party (UK), Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually was a leading New Imperialism, imperial ...

(vice-chairman, later chairman of the executive committee),

Jesse Collings Jesse Collings (2 December 1831 – 20 November 1920) was Mayor of Birmingham, England, a Liberal (later Liberal Unionist) member of Parliament, but was best known nationally in the UK as an advocate of educational reform and land reform.Ash ...

(honorary secretary of the League, and of the Education Aid Society), R. W. Dale, and William Harris. The League resolved that a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

should be prepared for the next session of Parliament to give non-sectarian education to all children. After some political promises and compromise the

Elementary Education Act 1870 The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75), commonly known as Forster's Education Act, set the framework for schooling of all children between the ages of 5 and 12 in England and Wales. It established local education authorities wit ...

( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) (Forster's Act) was passed, meeting some of the requirements of the League, and the first

School board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

s were elected. The League continued to campaign for a further seven years and elementary education (to age 12) eventually became free and compulsory in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

. In 1867 Dixon introduced a bill to establish school boards in areas where there were already sufficient schools. This bill was rejected. One of Dixon's experiments was the creation in 1884 of Bridge Street Technical School in the old

Cadbury's Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational corporation, multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods, Inc., Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest c ...

premises, bought by him, converted to a school at his own expense, and leased to the board at a nominal rent. It taught science and mechanics to 400 of the brighter boys for two years beyond normal school leaving age. This was a great success and was repeated in large towns across the country, and led to the Technical Instruction Act, which formalised the finance of this type of school. In 1888 the technical school moved to occupy the Oozells Street Board School as the George Dixon Higher Grade School and included girls. Waverley Road Higher Grade School was created in

Small Heath Small Heath is an inner-city area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre. History Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman t ...

in 1892 for 555 children. Dixon was made an honorary freeman of Birmingham in 1898, the year he died.

Legacy

Dixon established Bridge Street Technical School in 1884: when it moved to new premises in 1888 it was renamed George Dixon Higher Grade School; and when it was rebuilt in 1906, George Dixon School. Its successor schools are George Dixon Primary School and

George Dixon Academy George Dixon Academy is a secondary school located in north Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. Former names of the school include George Dixon Higher Grade School, George Dixon Grammar School, George Dixon Community School, George Dixon Grant Maint ...

. Indirectly, Dixon gave his name to the fictional character PC George Dixon, who first appeared in the film ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that ...

'' (1950), produced by a former pupil at George Dixon School, Sir

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in west London from 1938 to 1956. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

, and subsequently in the TV series ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 1955 ...

'' (1955–1976).

Family

In 1855 Dixon married Mary Stansfeld (died 1885), sister of politician

James Stansfeld Sir James Stansfeld, ( ; 5 March 182017 February 1898) was a British Radical and Liberal politician and social reformer who served as Under-Secretary of State for India (1866), Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1869–71) and Preside ...

, and daughter of James Stansfeld, a judge in Halifax. The architect Arthur Stansfield Dixon was their son: in all they had three sons and five daughters.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

*
George Dixon Academy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, George 1820 births 1898 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Mayors of Birmingham, West Midlands History of Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at Leeds Grammar School People from Gomersal UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 History of education in the United Kingdom