Thomas Burt
|
The Right Honourable Thomas Burt |
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Thomas Burt.
|
|
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | |
|
In office 18 August 1892 – 21 June 1895 |
|
| Monarch | Victoria of the United Kingdom |
| Prime Minister |
William Ewart Gladstone The Earl of Rosebery |
| Preceded by | The Lord Balfour of Burleigh |
| Succeeded by | The Earl of Dudley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 November 1837 Murton Row, near Backworth, Northumberland, UK |
| Died | 12 April 1922 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Liberal (Lib-Lab) |
Thomas Burt PC (12 November 1837 – 12 April 1922) was a British trade unionist and one of the first working-class Members of Parliament.
Burt became secretary of the Northumberland Miners' Association in 1863, then, in 1874, was returned to parliament for Morpeth, alongside Alexander MacDonald, a fellow miners' leader. Burt stood as a Radical labour candidate with Liberal support and formed part of a small group of Liberal–Labour politicians in the House of Commons in the 1880s and 1890s. After the 1892 General Election, William Ewart Gladstone appointed Burt as Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade, in which capacity he served until 1895.
Despite the emergence of the Independent Labour Party and the Labour Representation Committee, Burt remained loyal to his backers in the Liberal Party and refused to join. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1906 and continued to represent Morpeth in Parliament until 1918. From 1910 to 1918 he was Father of the House in the House of Commons.
Burt resigned as general secretary of the Northumberland Miners' Association in 1913.
Thomas Burt was born at Murton Row, near Backworth, in the county of Northumberland, on 12 November 1837. His father, Peter Burt, was at this time working as a coal hewer for the Backworth Coal Company. At the age of 10 Burt's working life began as a trapper boy at the Haswell Pit. With only approximately two years schooling and at the age of 17 Burt decided "how utterly ignorant I was and when I was seized with an eager desire for knowledge and mental improvement". In 1860 Burt married Mary Weatherburn and in the 1881 census they were listed as having three daughters and three sons; Rebecca aged 20, Mary aged 13, Thomas aged 11, Peter aged 8, Jane aged 6 and Wilfred aged 1. Poor health led to Burt's retirement from politics in 1918. During the final three years of his life he was bed-ridden. Burt died on 12 April 1922, aged 84 and was buried in Jesmond Cemetery which was in the neighbourhood of his residence in Newcastle upon Tyne. On 12 April 2014 a re-dedication of the Thomas Burt Memorial took place in Jesmond Cemetery.
...
Wikipedia