Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence
George VI | |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister | Clement Attlee |
| Preceded by | Leo Amery |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Listowel |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frederick William Lawrence 28 December 1871 London, England |
| Died | 10 September 1961 (aged 89) Hendon, London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouses | |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence,
PC (né Lawrence; 28 December 1871 – 10 September 1961) was a British Labour politician who, among other things, campaigned for women's suffrage
.
Background and education
Born in London as Frederick William Lawrence, he was the son of wealthy
.Political career
Gandhi
in 1946Lawrence met and fell in love with
socialist and campaigner for women's votes. They finally married in 1901 after Lawrence converted to socialism. They kept separate bank accounts and they both took the surname 'Pethick Lawrence' (later Pethick-Lawrence).[4] He published various left-wing newspapers, including Votes for Women and became involved in the Labour Party. His involvement in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), on behalf of women's rights, led to him serving a nine-month prison sentence in 1912, following Christabel Pankhurst's window-smashing campaign, even though he had disagreed with that form of action; because of his disagreement, indeed, he was expelled from the WSPU by Emmeline Pankhurst and Christabel. On account of his prison sentence he was expelled from the Reform Club.[5]
Early in the First World War Pethick-Lawrence joined with others in founding the Union of Democratic Control (UDC), a leading anti-war organisation of which he became Treasurer. After acceptance by a Tribunal in Dorking in 1918, he worked on a farm in Sussex as a conscientious objector
.
In 1923 Pethick-Lawrence was elected
Leader of the Opposition to the coalition government. In 1945 Pethick-Lawrence was elevated to the peerage as Baron Pethick-Lawrence, of Peaslake in the County of Surrey.[7] From 1945 to 1947 he was Secretary of State for India and Burma, with a seat in the cabinet, and was involved in the negotiations that led to India's independence in 1947. Prime Minister Clement Attlee, however, made all the government's major decisions regarding India.[8]
Personal life
His first wife, Emmeline, Lady Pethick-Lawrence, died in 1954. Lord Pethick-Lawrence later married Helen Craggs in 1957.[9] He died at Hendon, London, in September 1961, aged 89.
His older sister
Letchworth Garden City
.
Posthumous recognition
His name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the
plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London, unveiled in 2018.[10][11][12]
References
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online biographyat oxforddnb.com, January 2011, accessed 4 September 2013 (subscription required)
- ^ "Lawrence [post Pethick-Lawrence], Frederick William (LWRN891FW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "About us « Keynes Society". Keynessociety.wordpress.com. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 17 Nov 2007
- ^ Women, Clubs and Associations in Britain Doughan & Gordon, 2006, page 19
- ^ "No. 34407". The London Gazette. 11 June 1937. p. 3731.
- ^ "No. 37234". The London Gazette. 21 August 1945. p. 4227.
- ^ Kenneth Harris, Attlee (1982) p 362.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35491. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Historic statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett unveiled in Parliament Square". Gov.uk. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ Topping, Alexandra (24 April 2018). "First statue of a woman in Parliament Square unveiled". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ "Millicent Fawcett statue unveiling: the women and men whose names will be on the plinth". iNews. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
External links
- Works by or about Frederick Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence at Internet Archive
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Frederick Pethick-Lawrence
- spartacus-educational.com
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