William John Davis

William John Davis CH (6 August 1848 – 20 October 1934) was a British trade unionist.

Born in Birmingham, Davis began working in a brass foundry. In 1869, he represented his local reform organisation at the Trades Union Congress. In 1871, he was a founder member of the Amalgamated Brassworkers Society, becoming its first general secretary.[1]

Davis proved an effective secretary, increasing membership to 6,000 within a year. He was also active in the local Liberal Party, and in 1876 was elected to the school board, then in 1880, he became the first Liberal-Labour member of Birmingham City Council. In 1883, he stood down from the union to become a factory inspector. Under different leadership, membership of the union fell to only 2,000, and Davis agreed to return in 1889.[1]

Davis worked with Alexander Wilkie and Robert Knight to found the General Federation of Trade Unions in 1899. From 1906 to 1910, he published The British Trades Union Congress: History and Recollections.[1] In 1913, he served as President of the Trades Union Congress.[2] He strongly supported the prosecution of both the Second Boer War and World War I, after which he led a short-lived movement for the Labour Party to focus solely on trade union issues.[1]

Davis finally retired as general secretary of the Brassworkers in 1921, after which he retired to Paris.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Davis, William John", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ Details of Past Congresses, Trades Union Congress
Trade union offices Preceded byNew position General Secretary of the Amalgamated Brassworkers Society 1872–1883 Succeeded by? Preceded byJohn Inglis and H. R. King Auditor of the Trades Union Congress 1877 With: John P. Walker Succeeded byWilliam Count and James Fitzpatrick Preceded by? General Secretary of the National Society of Amalgamated Brassworkers 1888–1921 Succeeded byArthur H. Gibbard Preceded byAlexander Wilkie Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades Union Congress 1898 Succeeded byFrancis Chandler Preceded byW. C. Steadman Treasurer of the Trades Union Congress 1902–1910 Succeeded byPosition abolished Preceded byWill Thorne President of the Trades Union Congress 1913 Succeeded byJames Seddon Party political offices Preceded byJohn Hodge Chairman of the Annual Conference of the Labour Representation Committee 1902 Succeeded byJoseph Nicholas Bell
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