Thomas James Macnamara PC (23 August 1861 – 3 December 1931) was a British teacher, educationalist and radical Liberal politician.

Biography

Macnamara was born in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, the son of a soldier originally from

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

in Ireland.Robin Betts, ''Dr Macnamara, 1861-1931''; Liverpool University Press, 1999 His family returned to Britain in 1869. He was educated first at the Depot School in

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock () is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the constr ...

and then in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. He qualified as a teacher in 1876 at the Borough Road Training College for Teachers. In 1886, he married Rachel Cameron. They had three sons and one daughter.

Teaching

He was active as a teacher until 1892 in Exeter,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, when he became editor of ''The Schoolmaster''. He was sometime chairman of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 ( 33 & 34 Vict. c. 75) was ...

and in 1896 he was appointed president of the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

Politics

In 1900 he was elected to 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 ...

for Camberwell North, a seat he held until 1918, and then represented Camberwell North West until 1924. He served under

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Liberal Party (UK)#Liberal le ...

Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board The Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board was, from 1871 – 1919, a junior ministerial post in the United Kingdom subordinate to the President of the Local Government Board. The Local Government Board itself was established i ...

from 1907 to 1908 and under

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

and later

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...

Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty The Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty also known as the Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Board of Admiralty was a position on the Board of Admiralty and a civil officer of the British Royal Navy The Roy ...

from 1908 to 1920 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1911. In 1920 Lloyd George appointed him

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, with a seat in the cabinet, a position he retained until the government fell in October 1922.

Death

Macnamara died on 3 December 1931, aged 70, of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

Elsie Cameron Elias

His daughter, Elsie Cameron Macnamara was born in 1889. In April 1913 she married Thomas Elias and became known as Elsie Cameron Elias. Her husband was Liberal candidate for

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

in 1923. At the 1924 General Election she stood as Liberal candidate for Southwark South East, finishing third.''British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949'',

F. W. S. Craig Frederick Walter Scott Craig (10 December 1929 – 23 March 1989) was a Scottish psephologist and compiler of the standard reference books covering United Kingdom Parliamentary election results. He originally worked in public relations, compilin ...

Publications

* ''Schoolmaster sketches'' – Cassell, 1896 * ''The Education Bill and its Probable Effects on the Schools, the Scholars and School Teachers'' – Swan Sonnesschein, 1902 * ''The Gentle Golfer'' – Arrowsmith, 1905 * ''School-Room Humour'' - Arrowsmith, 1905 * ''The Education Bill of 1906 Explained and Defended'' – Liberal Publication Dept. 1906 * ''School Room Humour'' – Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, 1907 * ''What Not To Do'' in H Seton-Karr, ''Golf'' – Greening, 1907 * ''The Political Situation: Letters to Working Men'' – Hodder and Stoughton, 1909 * ''Concerning the Navy'' – Liberal Publication Dept. 1910 * ''Dr Macnamara's Messages to Working Men'' – Hodder and Stoughton, 1910 * ''Let London Lead: The Mother City's Duty to the Empire and Herself'' – reprinted with additions from the ''Daily Chronicle'', 1910 * ''The Great Insurance Act: Addresses to Working Men'' – Hodder and Stoughton, 1912 * ''The Great Insurance Act: A Year's Experience'' – Liberal Publication Dept 1913 * ''Success in Industry'' – Harrison, 1920 * ''The Work of the Ministry of Labour'' – National Liberal Council, 1922 * ''Labour at the Crossroads: Two Camberwell Addresses'' – Hodder and Stoughton, 1923 * ''If Only We Would: Some Reflections on our Social Shortcomings and Some Suggestions for their Removal'' – P S King, 1926

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macnamara, Thomas James 1861 births 1931 deaths Politicians from Montreal English educational theorists English people of Irish descent Canadian expatriates in England Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies National Union of Teachers-sponsored MPs Presidents of the National Union of Teachers UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Deaths from prostate cancer Members of the London School Board National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians Canadian emigrants to England Canadian people of Irish descent Schoolteachers from Devon Schoolteachers from Yorkshire Schoolteachers from Bristol