The Lord Selsdon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Postmaster General | |
| In office 4 November 1924 – 4 June 1929 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | Stanley Baldwin |
| Preceded by | Vernon Hartshorn |
| Succeeded by | Hastings Lees-Smith |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade | |
| In office 1 April 1921 – 19 October 1922 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Philip Cunliffe-Lister |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Wolmer |
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food Control | |
| In office 19 April 1920 – 1 April 1921 | |
| Monarch | George V |
| Prime Minister | David Lloyd George |
| Preceded by | Charles McCurdy |
| Succeeded by | Post abolished |
| Member of theHouse of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| In office 14 January 1932 – 24 December 1938 Hereditary Peerage | |
| Preceded by | Peerage created |
| Succeeded by | The 2nd Lord Selsdon |
| Member of Parliament forCroydon South | |
| In office 6 December 1923 – 14 January 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Allan Macgregor Smith |
| Succeeded by | Herbert Williams |
| Member of Parliament forGlasgow Maryhill | |
| In office 14 December 1918 – 26 October 1922 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency created |
| Succeeded by | John William Muir |
| Member of Parliament forNorth Down | |
| In office 28 April 1910 – 25 November 1918 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Lorimer Corbett |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Watters Brown |
| Member of Parliament forNorth West Lanarkshire | |
| In office 8 February 1906 – 10 February 1910 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Mackinnon Douglas |
| Succeeded by | William Pringle |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1877-04-15)15 April 1877 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Died | 24 December 1938(1938-12-24) (aged 61) London, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Scottish Unionist Irish Unionist Conservative |
| Spouse | Annie McEacharn |
| Children | Peter |
William Lowson Mitchell-Thomson, 1st Baron SelsdonKBE PC (15 April 1877 – 24 December 1938), known asSir William Mitchell-Thomson, 2nd Baronet, from 1918 to 1932, was a Scottish politician who served as British Postmaster-General from 1924 till 1929.[1]
Mitchell-Thomson was born at number 7Carlton Terrace,Edinburgh, the son ofMitchell Mitchell-Thomson,Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who was created a baronet in 1900.[2]
Mitchell-Thomson was educated atWinchester College andBalliol College, Oxford. He earned hisLL.B with distinction from theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1902.[1] He joined the Scottish bar that same year, but spent several years traveling before returning to Scotland.[3][1]
He was elected as aUnionistMember of Parliament forNorth West Lanarkshire in 1906, serving until his defeat at theJanuary 1910 general election. He was anIrish Unionist Party MP forNorth Down fromApril 1910 until 1918.
During theFirst World War, he served as Director of Restriction of Enemy Supplies. He was appointed a Commander of theOrder of the British Empire in the1918 New Year Honours.[4]
Following the War, he was appointed the British representative on theSupreme Economic Council, followed by appointments as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food and the Board of Trade.[1]
He was then MP forGlasgow Maryhill between 1918 and 1922, andConservative MP forCroydon South,South London from 1923 to 1932.
In 1922, Mitchell-Thomson wasParliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade and from 1924 until 1929, he served asPostmaster General. During theGeneral Strike of 1926, he served as Chief Civil Commissioner. He was made aPrivy Counsellor in 1924.
In 1932, Mitchell-Thomson resigned from theHouse of Commons and was raised to the peerage asBaron Selsdon, of Croydon in the County of Surrey.[5]
In May 1934 the British government appointed a committee, under the guidance of Lord Selsdon, to begin enquiries into the viability of setting up a public television service, with recommendations as to the conditions under which such a service could be offered. The results of the Selsdon Report were issued as a single Government White Paper in January of the following year. TheBBC was to be entrusted with the development oftelevision. Lord Selsdon was one of those to appear on the first day of BBC television broadcasts, 2 November 1936, now in his new capacity as Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee.[3][1]
Mitchell-Thomson was twice married. In 1907, he first married Madeleine, daughter of SirMalcolm McEacharn, who was also known as Anne.[6] They had a daughter who died in infancy, and a son, Peter. The marriage ended in divorce in 1932. The next year, he married Effie Lilian Loder Johnson, who as Effie Cook was a member ofPelissier's Follies.[1]
Lord Selsdon died at his home in 20 Grosvenor Square, London, in December 1938, aged 61. He was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium, and his ashes were later buried in Edinburgh.[7] His eldest sonPeter, who became a well-known racing driver, succeeded him in his titles.
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| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth West Lanarkshire 1906 –January 1910 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNorth Down 1910–1918 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forGlasgow Maryhill 1918–1922 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forCroydon South 1923–1932 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Postmaster General 1924–1929 | Succeeded by |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron Selsdon 1932–1938 | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Polmood) 1918–1932 | Succeeded by |