Arthur Henderson

Arthur Henderson got married to Eleanor Watson in 1888. The couple had three sons and a daughter.

Henderson died on October 20, 1935 in London, England, at the age of 72.

Arthur Henderson was born on September 13, 1863, to David Henderson and his wife Agnes Henderson, in Glasgow, Scotland. His father was employed as a textile worker while his mother worked as a domestic help.

Arthur Henderson was only ten years old when his father passed away and the resulting financial strain forced Henderson to quit school and instead look for work, which he found at a photographer’s shop. Subsequently, the family moved from Scotland to Newcastle in the north of England and Henderson enrolled in a school yet again.

When Arthur Henderson was only 12 years old, he started working as an apprentice at Robert Stephenson and Sons’ General Foundry Works. Henderson tried to gain as much knowledge as possible by reading the newspapers and engaging with the other workers at the foundry.

Arthur Henderson became a local preacher in 1879 after having become a Methodist in the same year.

The members of the Friendly Society of Iron Founders elected Arthur Henderson to their trade union in the capacity as a paid organiser in 1890 and although he became an active member of trade union movement; he was not in favour of frequent strikes since he did not feel that they served any purpose.

Arthur Henderson became a member of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) in 1900. Three years later he became the treasurer of the organisation and it was in the same year that he became a Member of Parliament after winning the by election in Barnard Castle. The LRC was what came to be known as the Labour Party.

Arthur Henderson became the Leader of the Labour Party in 1908 following the untimely resignation of the Labour Party leader Keir Hardie and he continued to serve as the leader till he resigned in 1910. However, in 1914, Henderson again became the Leader of the Labour Party when Ramsay MacDonald resigned in protest against the First World War.

In 1915, Arthur Henderson was made a member of the cabinet of the British Government when he was appointed as the President of the Board of Education in H.H. Asquith’s coalition government.

In 1916, David Lloyd George replaced H.H. Asquith as Prime Minister and Henderson was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the small war cabinet. Henderson resigned as minister in 1917 after his proposal for an international conference on the war was rejected by the cabinet.

Although he was one of the most influential politicians of his time; it was his work as a peace activist that is cited as his most significant work of his career. He was also a great supporter of the League of Nations.