Ramsay MacDonald was a British politician who went on to become the first Labour Party Prime Minister of Great Britain
Ramsay MacDonald
@Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Birthday and Childhood
Oct 12, 1866
Biography
Personal Details
- Birthday: October 12, 1866
- Died on: November 9, 1937
- Nationality: British
- Famous: Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, London School Of Economics (LSE), Leaders, Political Leaders, Prime Ministers
- Spouses: Margaret MacDonald
- Childrens: Malcolm MacDonald
- Universities:
- London School Of Economics
- Birkbeck
- University of London
- London School of Economics and Political Science
Ramsay MacDonald born at
Lossiemouth
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Birth Place
In 1896, he married Margaret Ethel Gladstone, a feminist and social reformer. The marriage was a quite happy one, and the couple were blessed with six children. In 1911, his wife died from blood poisoning which left MacDonald devastated and he never married again.
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Personal Life
In 1936, his condition worsened and a sea voyage was recommended to restore his health. Unfortunately, he died on November 9, 1937, aboard the liner, Reina del Pacifico, at sea, at the age of 71. After the funeral, his ashes were buried alongside his wife at Spynie in his native Morayshire.
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Personal Life
James Ramsay MacDonald was born on October 12, 1866 in the village of Lossiemouth in Scotland. He was the illegitimate son of John MacDonald, a plowman and a Highlander from the Black Isle of Ross, and Anne Ramsay, a housemaid.
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Childhood & Early Life
He received his elementary education from the Free Kirk School in Lossiemouth and the Drainie Parish School. Subsequently, he worked as a pupil-teacher and later moved to Bristol to work as a clergyman’s assistant.
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Childhood & Early Life
While working, he joined the Bristol branch of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), a Marxist-oriented society. His went to London in 1886.
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Childhood & Early Life
After being employed on a clerical job in London for several years, he joined the Independent Labour party (ILP), in 1894. The following year, he ran unsuccessfully as an ILP candidate for a seat in Parliament.
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Career
In 1896, he got married and subsequently became a journalist, writing for Labour and Socialist journals. Over the next few years, MacDonald rose in his career and gained reputation is the society.
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Career
In 1900, upon the formation of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), which later transformed into the Labour Party, MacDonald was unanimously chosen its first secretary.
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Career
In 1911, he became Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
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Career
During World War I, MacDonald’s opposition to the British entry in the Great War resulted in decline of his popularity. He was heavily criticized by the press and as a result, MacDonald resigned from his post.
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Career
Although his first Labour government in 1924 lasted less than a year, this short term established the fact that the Labour Party was amply skilled and efficient enough to run the government. This led to the return of MacDonald’s Labour government in 1929, and for the third time in 1931 as a coalition national government. A powerful orator, he also earned much public admiration for his pacifism.
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Major Works