Sir John Williams Benn, 1st Baronet, DL (13 November 1850 – 10 April 1922) was a British politician, particularly associated with

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

politics. He was the father of the politician William Benn, and the grandfather of the politician

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

Life and career

Benn was born 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 ...

, to a middle-class family, the eldest son of a Congregationalist minister, the Reverend Julius Benn (c. 1826–1883), and grandson of William Benn, but his parents moved the family to east

the following year, where they opened an institute for homeless boys. Benn was largely homeschooled and at the age of seventeen, he joined a

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

company. He later (1880) established a trade journal, ''The Cabinet Maker'', which eventually became the furniture trade's leading publication: when politics became his main interest, the family's publishing business, Benn Brothers, was taken over by his eldest son

Ernest Benn Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn, 2nd Baronet, (25 June 1875 – 17 January 1954) was a British publisher, writer and political publicist. His father, John Benn, was a Liberal politician, who had been made a baronet in 1914. He was brother of t ...

(1875–1954), who later renamed it

Ernest Benn Limited Ernest Benn Limited was a British publishing house. Sir John Benn Founded by Sir John Benn as Benn Brothers in 1880, it started as the publisher of the trade journal, ''The Cabinet Maker''. Ernest Benn After Sir John was elected to Parliame ...

. His niece was actress

Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, film and television. Rutherford came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's ''Blithe Spirit (1945 f ...

; she was the daughter of Benn's younger brother

William Rutherford Benn William Rutherford Benn, later William Rutherford, (1855–1921) was an English translator and journalist, and a member of the political Benn family. In 1883 he murdered his father, the Reverend Julius Benn, and was detained at Broadmoor Criminal ...

, who was put into a lunatic asylum following his murder of their father, the Rev. Julius Benn. When 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 ...

was established in January 1889, Benn accepted an invitation to stand as a Progressive Party candidate for East Finsbury and was elected. Like his contemporary

Will Crooks William Crooks (6 April 1852 – 5 June 1921) was a noted trade unionist and politician from Poplar, London, and a member of the Fabian Society. He is particularly remembered for his campaigning work against poverty and inequality. Early life ...

, Benn was active in the

London Dock Strike of 1889 The 1889 London dock strike was an industrial dispute involving dock workers in the Port of London. It broke out on 14 August 1889, and resulted in victory for the 100,000 strikers when they won their pay claim of sixpence per hour, the so-cal ...

, and, as an increasingly prominent local politician, was invited in 1891 to stand for Parliament as the

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 ...

candidate for St George Division of Tower Hamlets. He won election from the constituency the following year. He was later narrowly defeated at the general election in 1895, but he concentrated on his continuing work as a London councillor, helping introduce electric

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

s to London's streets in 1903. A year later, he returned to Parliament after winning a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

at Devonport, a seat he retained until being defeated in 1910. In the meantime his son, 28-year-old

William Wedgwood Benn William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate, (10 May 1877 – 17 November 1960) was a British Liberal politician who later joined the Labour Party. A decorated Royal Air Force officer, he was Secretary of State for India between 1929 and ...

, had also been elected to Parliament, winning Benn's former seat at St. George in 1906. Benn senior was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

in February 1905. For his work as an MP, he was knighted in 1906 and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1914. John Benn remained a member of the London County Council until his death in 1922, leading the Progressive Party until ill-health forced him to relinquish that role in 1918. In his final election campaign he was victorious, defeating the Labour Group Leader.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benn, John Williams 1850 births 1922 deaths Deputy lieutenants of the County of London Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of London County Council

101 101 may refer to: *101 (number), the number * AD 101, a year in the 2nd century AD * 101 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''101'' (album), a live album and documentary by Depeche Mode * "101" (song), a 19 ...

Politicians from Manchester UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 Progressive Party (London) politicians

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Devon Knights Bachelor Politicians from Plymouth, Devon