William John Davis CH (6 August 1848 – 20 October 1934) was a British

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. Born 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 ...

, Davis began working in a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

. In 1869, he represented his local

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

organisation at the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

. In 1871, he was a founder member of the Amalgamated Brassworkers Society, becoming its first general secretary.Davis, William John
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' Davis proved an effective secretary, increasing membership to 6,000 within a year. He was also active in the local

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 ...

, and in 1876 was elected to the school board, then in 1880, he became the first Liberal-Labour member of

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

. In 1883, he stood down from the union to become a

factory inspector A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

. Under different leadership, membership of the union fell to only 2,000, and Davis agreed to return in 1889. Davis worked with

Alexander Wilkie Alexander Wilkie CH (30 September 1850 – 2 September 1928) was a Labour Party politician in Scotland, best known for his service as a Member of Parliament for Dundee. Along with the Dundonian George Nicoll Barnes, Wilkie was one of the fir ...

and Robert Knight to found the General Federation of Trade Unions in 1899. From 1906 to 1910, he published ''The British Trades Union Congress: History and Recollections''. In 1913, he served as

President of the Trades Union Congress The president of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in United Kingdom, British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serv ...

.Details of Past Congresses

He strongly supported the prosecution of both the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, after which he led a short-lived movement for the Labour Party to focus solely on trade union issues. Davis finally retired as general secretary of the Brassworkers in 1921, after which he retired to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, William John 1848 births 1934 deaths Councillors in Birmingham, West Midlands British trade union leaders Members of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress Trade unionists from Birmingham, West Midlands Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Factory inspectors Chairs of the Labour Party (UK)