Joseph Burgess
Encyclopedia
Joseph Burgess was a British journalist and Labour politician.
He was born on 3 July 1853 in Failsworth
, Lancashire
, the third of six children of handloom weavers, and educated at a print works school in Failsworth. He started work in a card-cutting room at the age of six and worked as a cotton operative until he was 28. He married three times, having six children and died January 1934.
(ILP) and the Labour Party
. He unsuccessfully ran as an ILP parliamentary candidate for Leicester
in 1894 and 1895 before taking a role of organising secretary for the ILP between 1897 and 1902. He was a member of the Glasgow City Council between 1902-5 and unsuccessfully ran as an ILP candidate for Glasgow Camlachie
in 1906, and Montrose in 1908 and 1910. He resigned from the ILP in 1915.
Throughout his career he was involved in newspapers:
He was born on 3 July 1853 in Failsworth
Failsworth
At Failsworth lies north-northwest of London. It shares common boundaries with Manchester and Oldham, on its west and northeast respectively. Failsworth is traversed by the A62 road, from Manchester to Oldham, the heavy rail line of the Oldham Loop and the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, the third of six children of handloom weavers, and educated at a print works school in Failsworth. He started work in a card-cutting room at the age of six and worked as a cotton operative until he was 28. He married three times, having six children and died January 1934.
Career
He was active in the creation of the Independent Labour PartyIndependent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
(ILP) and the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He unsuccessfully ran as an ILP parliamentary candidate for Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in 1894 and 1895 before taking a role of organising secretary for the ILP between 1897 and 1902. He was a member of the Glasgow City Council between 1902-5 and unsuccessfully ran as an ILP candidate for Glasgow Camlachie
Glasgow Camlachie (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Camlachie was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 1955.It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
in 1906, and Montrose in 1908 and 1910. He resigned from the ILP in 1915.
Throughout his career he was involved in newspapers:
- 1881: correspondent for a local newspaper
- 1884: started his own short-lived paper, the Oldham Operative
- 1885–89: sub-editor of the Cotton Factory Times
- 1889–91: manager of the Yorkshire Factory TimesYorkshire Factory TimesThe Yorkshire Factory Times was a British newspaper, founded in 1889. It was published weekly between 3 January 1890 and 29 December 1899. The newspaper was initially edited by Joseph Burgess and published from Huddersfield...
- 1891–93: editor of Workman's Times
- 1914: editor of the Bradford PioneerBradford PioneerBradford Pioneer is a defunct newspaper published in Bradford between 1913 to 1936 under the auspices of the Bradford Independent Labour Party, Trades Council and Workers' Municipal Federation....
- 1919: editorial staff for the London Evening Standard and the Pall Mall GazettePall Mall GazetteThe Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
Publications
- John Burns: the rise and progress of the right honourable (1911)
- Homeland or Empire (1915)
- British agriculture versus foreign tributes (1925)
- Will Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
replace Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonaldJames Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
(1926)
Further reading
- A. T. Lane, Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders, 1995. p 164–5 ISBN 0-313-29900-5
- unpublished typescript 'Nineteenth Century Lancashire Textile Operatives Tribulations, 1800–95 held in the Labour Party Archives, London
- A Potential Poet? His Autobiography and Verse (1927)
- J. Burnett, D. Vincent, and D. Mayalls, eds., The Autobiography of the Working Class, vol 1.
- Kevin McPhillips, Joseph Burgess (1853–1934) and the Founding of the Independent Labour Party, 2005. ISBN 978-0-7734-6068-3