Laurence George Bowman (16 March 1866 – 21 November 1950), was a British

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 and headmaster.

Background

He was born in Poland when it was part of Tsarist Russia, and brought to England in 1870. He was educated at the Jews Free School and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

where he obtained BA (Hons in Mental and Moral Science), MA (Philosophy, etc.) and BSc; Teachers’ Diploma (University of London). He married, in 1893, Fanny Cohen. She died in 1942. They had one son who was killed in 1917 and one daughter, Ruth.

Educational career

He was Assistant Master at Jews Free School, 1880–98, Vice-Master, 1898–1907 and Headmaster, 1908–30 after which he retired. He was Chairman of the Education Committee of the Jewish Religious Education Board. Representative on the Appeal Tribunal of Unemployment Assistance Board. Vice-Chairman of Central School Employment Committee. He was a Member of various educational and political bodies. He was a Lecturer and Speaker on Educational and Political Subjects.

Political career

He was a supporter of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

land value taxation A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic inefficiency, and helps reduce economic inequali ...

, co-partnership in industry with profit sharing. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the London Liberal Federation. He was Liberal candidate for the St Pancras South East Division at the 1935 General Election. The constituency was not a good prospect for the Liberal Party as they came a poor third the last time they stood a candidate in 1929. He was re-adopted by local Liberal Association and continued as prospective parliamentary candidate until the outbreak of war By the time of the next General Election in 1945, he had been replaced as candidate and did not stand for parliament again. He was President of South Hendon Division Liberal Association.

Ruth Abrahams

His daughter, born in 1894 as Ruth Bowman, in 1914 married

Sidney Abrahams Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams (11 February 1885 – 14 May 1957), nicknamed Solly, was a British barrister, judge, and Olympic athlete. He served as Chief Justice of Ceylon and as a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He was ...

, who was later knighted. They had two children, Valerie and

Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...

. As Lady Abrahams, she was also politically active in the Liberal Party. She stood for parliament on three occasions;

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

in 1950, Nottingham East in 1951 and

Wembley North Wembley North was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency in what was then the Borough of Wembley in North-West London. It returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons ...

in 1955.''The Times House of Commons, 1950-55''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:BOWMAN, Laurence George 1866 births 1950 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom