Ramsay MacDonald

British prime minister in 1924 and 1929 to 1935

Photo by: Bain News Service, publisher · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:October 12, 1866

Died:November 9, 1937

Age at death:71

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Heart Failure

Zodiac Sign:Libra

Children:6

Born in:Lossiemouth, United Kingdom

Languages:English

Politician Writer Journalist Diplomat

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Famous For

Books

Taylor, Peter AlfredWinterbotham, Henry Selfe Page (DNB00)Winterbotham, William (DNB00)North, Brownlow (1810-1875) (DNB00)Wolseley, Charles (1769-1846) (DNB00)

Awards

Fellow of the Royal Society (1930)

Ramsay MacDonald

British prime minister in 1924 and 1929 to 1935

Biography

James Ramsay MacDonald (né James McDonald Ramsay; 12 October 1866 – 9 November 1937) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, first briefly in 1924 and again from 1929 to 1935. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party: a minority Labour government for nine months in 1924, making him the first Labour Prime Minister in British history, and the second between 1929 and 1931. In 1931, MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party; after, he formed a National Government dominated by the Conservative Party and supported by only a few Labour members. His premiership then lasted until 1935. MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, was one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party in 1900. He was chairman of the Labour MPs before 1914 and, after an eclipse in his career caused by his opposition to the First World War, he was Leader of the Labour Party from 1922. The second Labour Government (1929–1931) was dominated by the Great Depression. He formed the National Government to carry out spending cuts to defend the gold standard, but it had to be abandoned after the Invergordon Mutiny, and he called a general election in 1931 seeking a "doctor's mandate" to fix the economy. The National coalition won an overwhelming landslide and the Labour Party was reduced to a rump of around 50 seats in the House of Commons. His health deteriorated and he stood down as prime minister in 1935, remaining as Lord President of the Council until retiring in 1937. He died later that year. MacDonald's speeches, pamphlets and books made him an important theoretician. Historian John Shepherd states that "MacDonald's natural gifts of an imposing presence, handsome features and a persuasive oratory delivered with an arresting Highlands accent made him the iconic Labour leader". After 1931, MacDonald was repeatedly and bitterly denounced by the Labour movement as a traitor to its cause. Since the 1960s, some historians have defended his reputation, emphasising his earlier role in building up the Labour Party, dealing with the Great Depression, and as a forerunner of the political realignments of the 1990s and 2000s.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Ramsay MacDonald”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“The Hindu from his traditions and religion regards India not only as a political unit naturally the subject of one sovereignty, but as the outward embodiment, as the temple - nay even as the Goddess Mother of his spiritual culture.... India and Hinduism are organically related as body and soul.”

— Introduction to the "The Fundamental Unity ofIndia: ; Patel, Satyavrata Ramdas The so1l1 ofIndia New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1974, c1973 p.208., as quoted in Londhe, S. (2008). A tribute to Hinduism: Thoughts and wisdom spanning continents and time about India and her culture

“The Labour party is no class champion. In politics it is frankly democratic, in economics it is co-operative... It was not bought into being to revenge the wage-earner and mercilessly smash the capitalist... Capitalist and labourer alike feel that some new order must evolve if England is to exist.”

— The New Charter: A Programme for Working Class Politics (1892), quoted in Pat Thane, ‘Labour and local politics: radicalism, democracy and social reform, 1880–1914’, in Eugenio F. Biagini and Alastair J. Reid (eds.), Currents of Radicalism: Popular Radicalism, Organised Labour and Party Politics in Britain, 1850–1914 (1991), p. 262

“There is too much expected of parliament. Localities should manage their own affairs and unions of localities should be formed when necessary to look after common interests. Our county councils are excellent beginnings in this direction.”

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Ramsay MacDonald", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Title: J. Ramsay McDonald Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

Title: Former Prime Minister of Great Britain is received by President Coolidge. Accompanied by his charming daughter, Ishbel, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Ramsay McDonald, was received by President Coolidge at the White House today. He was presented to the Chief Executive by Sir Esme Howard, British ambassador, who is shown on the left in the photograph Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller

Title: Greeted by the Vice President. Premier Ramsey MacDonald, today made his first call upon the Vice President of the United States. The group, made on the steps of the United States Capitol shown, left to right: Premier MacDonald, Vice President Curtis, Ambassador Howard and Senator Stephen G. Porter of Pittsburgh, Pa. Abstract/medium: 1 negative : glass ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller

Sujet : Thomas, James Henry (1874-1949) -- Portraits MacDonald, James Ramsay (1866-1937) -- Portraits Clynes, J. R. (1869-1949) -- Portraits Henderson, Arthur (1863-1935) -- Portraits Portraits collectifs -- 1914-1945 Référence bibliographique : Rol, 89410 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20Rol Image de presse Couverture : .. janvier 1924 Langue : français

Sujet : MacDonald, James Ramsay (1866-1937) -- Portraits Kellogg, Frank Billings (1856-1937) -- Portraits Édouard VIII (1894-1972 ; roi de Grande-Bretagne) -- Portraits Howard, Esme (1863-1939) -- Portraits Londres (GB) Portraits collectifs -- 1914-1945 Référence bibliographique : Rol, 89730 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20Rol Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : MAEDI007 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : MAEDI009 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : MAEDIGen0 Image de presse Couverture : 01 février 1924 Langue : français

Sujet : Hymans, Paul (1865-1941) -- Portraits MacDonald, James Ramsay (1866-1937) -- Portraits Theunis, Georges (1873-1966) -- Portraits Chequers (GB) Portraits collectifs -- 1914-1945 Référence bibliographique : Rol, 91794 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20Rol Image de presse Couverture : 02 mai 1924 Langue : français

Sujet : MacDonald, Ishbel (1903-1982) -- Portraits Henderson, Arthur (1863-1935) -- Portraits MacDonald, James Ramsay (1866-1937) -- Portraits Portraits collectifs -- 1914-1945 Référence bibliographique : Rol, 92193 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20Rol Image de presse Couverture : .. mai 1924 Langue : français

Sujet : MacDonald, James Ramsay (1866-1937) -- Portraits Référence bibliographique : Mondial, 1553 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20MPP Image de presse Couverture : .. avril 1932 Langue : français Éditeur : diff. par l'Agence Mondial (Paris)

Sujet : MacDonald, James Ramsay (1866-1937) -- Portraits Référence bibliographique : Mondial, 1554 Appartient à l’ensemble documentaire : Pho20MPP Image de presse Couverture : .. avril 1932 Langue : français Éditeur : diff. par l'Agence Mondial (Paris)