born Aug. 15, 1856, Legbrannock, Lanark, Scot.
died Sept. 26, 1915, Glasgow
British labour leader.
A coal miner, he led strikes and helped form unions, then worked as a journalist and founded two newspapers. Elected to Parliament in 1892, he helped organize the Independent Labour Party. In 1906 he became the first leader of the Labour Party in the House of Commons. A pacifist, he sought unsuccessfully to bind the Second International to declaring a general strike in all countries in the event of war. From 1903 he also acted as chief adviser to the militant suffragists headed by Emmeline Pankhurst .