JOHN, EDWARD THOMAS (1857 - 1931), industrialist and politician

Name: Edward Thomas John
Date of birth: 1857
Date of death: 1931
Gender: Male
Occupation: industrialist and politician
Area of activity: Business and Industry; Politics, Government and Political Movements
Author: Robert Thomas Jenkins

Born 14 March 1857 at Pontypridd. His industrial career was bound up with Middlesbrough, where he was on the staff of the firm of Bolckow Vaughan, ironmasters - a firm founded by John Vaughan (1799? - 1868), a Welshman, which attracted many Welshmen to Middlesbrough at one period (see under Edward Williams, 1826 - 1886.)

Later, John and a man named Torbock bought the Dinsdale Iron-works, and later still these works joined forces with Bolckow Vaughan's works at Linthorpe to form the Linthorpe-Dinsdale smelting company.

After retiring from active management, John took up politics. He was Liberal M.P. for east Denbighshire 1910-18, but was defeated in the 'coupon' election of 1918 by Sir D.S. Davies, and was again unsuccessful as a Labour candidate in Anglesey (1922) - he resided at that time at Plas Llanidan.

Throughout his political life he was a zealous advocate of home rule for Wales, and diligently assembled statistical data to strengthen the economic arguments in its favour. For ten years he was president of the ' Union of Welsh Societies ' (a cultural organization); he was also president of the ' Peace Society,' 1924-7. Though an indifferent public speaker, he was an active writer, contributing many articles to newspapers and to such periodicals as Y Beirniad and The Welsh Outlook.

He died 16 February 1931.

Author

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/

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